Rethinking MedMal Claims: Why Efficiency Matters

Speaker Bios

Dr. Ara Feinstein developed broad leadership experience across several critical domains of health care: education, medical group operations, and system strategy and integration. He boasts a diverse background and maintains an active academic and clinical presence in the field of trauma surgery. Dr. Feinstein is now the Physician Executive at Banner Health, leading over 300 providers, and his responsibilities include the operational, financial, and quality performance of these practices.

Kara Knowles holds a Juris Doctorate and has over eighteen years of medical malpractice program claims and litigation management experience. In her current role at GB Specialty, Kara is responsible for professional liability and general liability claim management for multiple health care systems including a large multi-hospital Risk Retention Group (RRG) and a multi-specialty medical group with 1600 physicians. Duties include identification and implementation of litigation strategy; claim reporting to subcommittees and the board of directors; development of claim trends and lessons learned; collaboration with risk managers, defense counsel, and excess carriers; and negotiating settlements.

Shawna Willcox is a Certified Professional in Health Care Risk Management (CPHRM) and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with an emphasis in Healthcare Systems. Shawna has over twenty-two years of medical malpractice program management experience; which includes providing risk management consultation services to health care providers nationwide for hospitals, social workers, and allied health professionals. She has specialized in risk management services that involve customized on-site risk assessments; new risk manager orientation; regularly scheduled support calls; general telephonic interaction; and researching specific risk-related topics, as requested.

Shawna also has extensive experience with providing claims and litigation management services to health care providers nationwide, including hospitals; orthotic and prosthetic providers; and allied health professionals. She has managed liability claims and litigation from inception to resolution, including evaluating claims, analyzing coverage, managing defense counsel, negotiating settlements, and participation in mediations and trials.

Jerrod Bailey is the CEO of Medplace, the world's first marketplace for medical expertise, connecting medical specialists with companies who seek their expertise. Jerrod has spent 20 years in technology start-ups and corporate new venture development as an operator, founder, and advisor.