Medical clinics are a crucial part of the Hong Kong medical industry and never stop helping the public. Medical professionals dream of opening their own clinics, where they are in charge and can help people through their own business. The different medical clinics include a dentist, general practitioner, Chinese medicine, chiropractor clinic and many more.
Opening medical clinics in Hong Kong can be tough and full of risks. Professionals involved should understand these medical practice risks and how they can be covered. One of the best ways to cover these risks is with a range of insurance.
After you have planned to open your clinic and all seems to be going to plan, it’s time to purchase insurance. Insurance can help doctors and businesses overcome injuries, lawsuits, business interruptions and even cyber-attacks.
The article will explain the main risks and insurance needed to open and run medical clinics in Hong Kong.
Insurance Needed for Medical Clinics and Professionals in Hong Kong
Medical Malpractice Insurance
Doctors are literally lifesavers. They have vowed to use their medical knowledge and skills to help their patients. However, we often forget they are still humans and can make mistakes. Medical negligence is a considerable risk in the medical industry and is common in medical clinics. In some situations, negligence can result in lawsuits and ruin a medical professional’s reputation.
One of the most common medical negligence is misdiagnosis. Misdiagnosis negligence is when a doctor accidently provides the wrong medical information and makes an error in understanding the condition. There are many cases where symptoms of a common illness are similar to serious diseases, and these mistakes occur.
Additionally, there are many other medical malpractices, such as surgical errors, delayed diagnosis, birth injuries and, unfortunately, more. Hence, medical malpractice insurance is the number one policy needed when opening any medical clinic in Hong Kong.
The insurance is a medical professional liability policy that covers lawsuits or allegations by patients due to medical negligence or decisions. It is an essential insurance for medical professionals worldwide to protect their liability and reputation. The insurance will cover lawyer’s fees, legal, settlement, compensation costs and medical damages. A doctor never knows when they will make a mistake and will be penalised for it by their patient.
Cyber Insurance
These days most medical clinics collect and store all patient data electronically. The data includes patient personal information, health information, test results, past healthcare treatments, and payment details. Medical clinics should protect the information; however, sometimes medical professionals forget they can be victims of cyber-attacks too.
Cybercriminals could attack a medical business at any point to steal and sell data on the dark web market. There have been many real medical record hacking cases worldwide. Additionally, cyber-attacks can force a medical business to pause until the risk is cleared. Patients trust clinics to protect their sensitive information and keep it private. Medical clinics in Hong Kong must have adequate cyber security to protect patient data, but sometimes that is not enough.
To help resolve cyber-attack risks, medical clinics in Hong Kong should purchase cyber insurance. The insurance will cover costs related to expert cyber advice, cyber business interruption, data recovery, third-party response, and financial loss. Cyber insurance is the perfect cover if the medical business has suffered a cyber-attack.
Patient data protection is crucial to any business, and there should always be multiple strategies to protect and recover data.
Property All-Risk Insurance
Opening and running medical clinics include expensive equipment, clinic fixtures, and the clinic itself. Any damage to any of these assets, rented or owned, can seriously harm the businesses and their expenses. In addition, repairing and replacing can be extremely costly and sometimes unaffordable.
For example, dental equipment can cost more than 200,000 HKD for essential dental treatments. The cost may be unaffordable to a new clinic that hasn’t secured enough clients. Property damage could be due to malfunctions, fires, floods or weather factors. Either way, a business must replace or repair it for the clinic to continue successfully.
Medical clinics must purchase property all-risk insurance to avoid unwanted financial loss and risk of closure. The insurance will cover the costs of repair and replacement for the clinic. The financial cover can help the business to operate without any financial loss.
Business Interruption Insurance
Some property damage due to fires, floods and natural disasters can force a medical clinic to shut down for repairs temporally. During this time, there is no source of income, but the medical business may still need to pay various expenses. These expenses include rent, salary, government fees, loans and more.
For example, a fire broke out at a clinic in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, due to a malfunctioning electrical mat. Medical clinics are still liable to pay outgoing expenses no matter how severe the property damage is. Business interruption can force a business to shut down due to the lack of funds to reoperate.
Property damage and the following business interruption are unpredictable; hence, all clinics can benefit from business interruption insurance. The insurance covers and reimburses income lost following property damage or machine breakdown.
The cover allows medical clinics to resume business after repairs, almost like there was no interruption. However, medical clinics must remember the disruption must be more than three days to be eligible for business interruption coverage.
Public Liability Insurance
When running a clinic, there are always people coming in and out. Medical clinic owners are liable for the public’s safety in their clinic, even if they are not patients. Like any other business, there is always a chance of a person slipping inside the clinic or clinic activity, causing some property damage.
When a medical business activity or the premises causes any third-party injury or property damage, the affected party can sue the medical business. The clinic business will be responsible for paying the third-party medical, compensation, settlement or property damage costs. These costs can add up to a large amount and affect the clinic’s reputation.
Public liability insurance should be bought by every clinic in Hong Kong. The insurance will cover any lawsuits due to third-party injuries or property damage that resulted in the premises or due to business activity. No business that works on-site is safe from public liability claims, and it is always better to be protected.
Employee Compensation Insurance
Every medical clinic in Hong Kong operates with nurses, doctors and sometimes office staff. All these professionals are clinic employees and are how the clinic runs. The registered medical business is responsible for employee safety while performing their duty. If an employee suffers a work injury, the business is legally liable for paying and compensating the costs related to the injury. These costs include medical bills, salary while recovering and possible compensation.
The injury could be due to the job, the patient or even slip and falls. For example, a Hong Kong nurse was injured by an electrical shock from a faulty drug dispenser. The medical organisation had to cover the injury costs and ensure the nurse got the necessary care.
For this reason, employee compensation insurance is mandatory in Hong Kong. The insurance will cover work injuries and illnesses at clinics. Employee compensation will cover costs such as medical bills, 80% of salary while recovering and compensation cover if disabled. It is an insurance that helps businesses fulfil their duty of being a caring employer.
Why Insurance Is Crucial for Medical Clinic Businesses?
Due to the threats and uncertainty, insurance is crucial to any industry, especially the medical industry. All six insurance are different and is the perfect combination to cover all risks.
Medical clinics, professionals and the public can benefit from these covers. The insurance makes sure that in case of a disastrous situation, the financial loss is to a minimum. The costs saved should be used to help and treat the public, not on lawsuits.
Finally, these insurances provide professionals with the peace of mind to perform their duty without stressing each step. Because mistakes happen no matter how trained the medical staff is, and should not be punished for accidents.
Insurance will protect medical clinic businesses in Hong Kong, as no one knows when one error can become a costly lawsuit.
To Learn More about medical business insurance and protect your medical clinic in Hong Kong & Asia, contact Red Asia Insurance.
