Litiscape, a new software company created to protect physicians from frivolous malpractice litigation and financial exploitation, was officially launched at the beginning of this year. By screening for over 1,200 different liability factors in real-time, Litiscape provides physicians with information that allows them to both protect themselves and give better care to their patients.
The program’s creator, Michael Kamalu, thought of the concept after his father, a private practice family physician, was hit with his fourth malpractice suit. After months of stress and damage to his practice, his father discovered the patient had a long history of filing baseless lawsuits in pursuit of monetary payouts.
Kamalu created Litiscape so that physicians wouldn’t have to be blind to high-risk situations and even exploitation. He has also partnered with malpractice insurance carriers to provide physicians who use the software with a significantly discounted insurance policy, oftentimes saving them a considerable amount of money.
“Unfortunately, the malpractice system incentivizes frivolous litigation,” Kamalu said. “Less than 15% of claims ever show any evidence of medical error, yet 97% of patient plaintiffs receive monetary payouts. Some people justify it by saying malpractice insurance pays the claims so it doesn’t have any significant effect on physicians, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Premiums go up, countless hours are wasted, carefully groomed reputation is damaged, and in some cases, careers have been ruined. With Litiscape, we are putting some control back in the hands of physicians so that they can have the peace of mind to focus on what they became a doctor for—to help and to heal.”
Defensive medicine costs the U.S. roughly $46 billion per year. Litiscape puts the control back into the hands of the physicians by providing better and more detailed background information on patients. Although Litiscape was initially created with the goal to screen for litigation risk, it also ultimately provides the physicians with information that allows them to give better care to their patients.
The Litiscape Report
Litiscape has a proprietary algorithm that calculates a risk profile based on numerous factors including past litigation history, fraud and criminal records. The software also notifies physicians of potential healthcare-influencing factors such as DUIs, prescription fraud, or drug arrests, even detailing what type of drug was involved such as narcotics, barbiturates, or amphetamines. With this knowledge, a physician can be on the lookout for drug-related symptoms and also be aware of which prescriptions may not be appropriate to prescribe.
Kamalu took the time to show OTW a sample report and explain the different categories included with the risk score. When a physician inputs a patient’s name, Litiscape queries in real time every single public record and court database across the nation at all levels including city, county, state and federal. The Litiscape algorithm weighs over 1,200 different factors by how pertinent they are to healthcare providers. The program also runs an identification confirmation to make sure that it is querying the right person. Once the program runs, it presents a final risk score, along with a summary that is divided into four different risk categories: litigation risk, financial risk, criminal risk, and potential healthcare-influencing factors.
In addition to the risk score, physicians also have the option to view the full report. This includes any and all information that was obtained in calculating the risk score. An average report has about 200 pages of information. Criminal information may include arrest dates, locations, and the case result. It may also provide the history on any drug abuse, if the patient has been charged with or convicted of a drug related crime. The report can give a clearer picture of a drug seeking profile because it identifies the types of drugs included in the charge.
“My goal is for physicians to be able to perform their job to the best of their ability without fear of vulnerability and exploitation,” Kamalu said. “Litiscape will provide physicians with peace of mind again, while also enabling them to provide the best informed care for their patients. We believe it will soon become a new standard in the healthcare industry.”
When asked about its growth, Kamalu told OTW that Litiscape has, “Set up about 60 [customers] over the last three weeks and has several hundred more in the pipeline!”
