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Consider the following: An adverse “incident” happens in your office or during a patient’s hospitalization. The patient becomes upset and hints at (even threatens) litigation. What do you do now? You could ignore the threat and hope that the patient doesn’t sue you. However, this option is risky and very likely will result in a lawsuit. Also, we know that the single most important factor in averting a lawsuit is continuation of good physician-patient communications.

“Remedial Medical Services are designed to reimburse a patient’s out-ofpocket medical expenses for remedial treatment.”

Rather than run the risk of being sued, consider another approach that is available to you as an MPT Member:  
Remedial Medical Services (RMS). The RMS Program has been an invaluable tool to assist Members with potential claims.

Proof that RMS is a dynamic alternative to litigation is in the numbers. From 1998 to the first quarter of 2005, a total of 219 claims were resolved using the RMS Program, with indemnity payments totaling $637,186. Had these claims resulted in lawsuits and defended by a retained attorney, potential costs to MPT could approach $5,000,000. In this same time frame, not a single patient who accepted an RMS payment has subsequently sued.

What is the RMS program? RMS is a provision in the MPT Agreement, designed to reimburse a patient’s outof-pocket medical expenses for remedial treatment, required to address an unsatisfactory outcome arising from professional services. The intent of the program is to address situations in which negligence is not clear. Nevertheless, the patient is forced to undergo further medical treatment and to incur additional expenses. RMS does not pay for pain and suffering, or a patient’s lost earnings, nor does it pay for the physician’s professional fees.

The classic RMS claim is the repair of patient’s chipped tooth following an intubation. Although a tooth injury is a known and predictable complication of intubation, the RMS approach will have the patient visit the dentist, have the tooth repaired utilizing the patient’s own dental insurance (if any), and then pay any out-of-pocket medical expenses. This way the patient is made whole. Another example is payment for out-of-pocket expenses for an ER visit for a patient who suffered an allergic reaction to a prescribed medication.

Reporting requirements are the same as any other indemnity payment made by MPT. As long as the initial request for payment is “oral,” no reporting is required to the National Practitioner Data Bank. Only an RMS payment over $30,000 would have to be reported to the Medical Board of California.

How does a Member implement Remedial Medical Services? Simply by calling the MPT Hotline at 800-252-0555, and speaking to a Hotline Representative about RMS. Be sure to have the patient’s chart with you when you call. After obtaining some preliminary information, the Hotline Specialist will discuss with you the potential of utilizing RMS in your specific situation. If appropriate, the claim will be assigned to our dedicated RMS Claims Specialist, who will guide you through the process to completion of the claim.

Clearly, RMS has been, and will continue to be, an effective alternative to avoid litigation. Not every claim can be handled utilizing the RMS Program. But for those claims that qualify, the results speak for themselves.