Definition of "Channeling"
Hospital insurance program that provides medical professional liability insurance coverage to non employed hospital physicians. The objective of this means of insurance coverage is to increase the number of patients being admitted to the hospital by tying staff physicians to that particular hospital through this insurance plan. This insurance strategy could lead to lower premiums resulting from loss control programs and joint legal liability defense programs. (The hospital and physician jointly defend against a patient's liability claim rather than each party retaining an attorney, which would increase expenses and develop an adversarial relationship between hospital and physician.) This program can be implemented through a joint hospital and physician program insuring both hospital and physician under the same insurance policy or the hospital can purchase a separate insurance policy for the physician.
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