Grant award program partnerships with your professional liability insurance carrier: an innovative approach to loss prevention and improved patient safety.

The financial success of a malpractice insurance program is directly influenced by how effectively the covered providers respond to risk. This article describes a University Self-Insurance Program partnership to provide small grants to providers who have the expertise and passion for a specific risk reduction activity that is cost effective and measurable and has a high probability of improving patient care and reducing claims or lawsuits. Implementation of this small grant concept can be tailored to become operational in virtually any setting from an independent medical practice to a multistate healthcare system.