The medical industry is full of medical professionals who are experts in different skills. Each medical professional’s duty includes interacting with patients to advise them, perform surgery, or provide medical treatment.
The profession is gratifying when things go as planned, but sometimes things do not go the right way. Experts and companies directly involved in the medical industry have risks that can ruin careers and company reputations.
Fortunately, medical professionals, hospitals, medical centres and clinics can purchase medical malpractice insurance. There are several vital reasons to purchase the insurance, which make it a must in the medical industry.
What Is Medical Malpractice Insurance?
Medical malpractice insurance is a liability protection for medical professionals and healthcare organisations. The insurance policy covers medical professionals from lawsuits against them due to medical negligence, error or decisions.
The insurance will cover numerous costs related to the liability claims. The cover includes medical malpractice attorney’s fees, court costs, medical damages, compensation and settlements expenses.
The financial coverage is just one of many crucial reasons the medical industry needs medical malpractice insurance. However, it’s essential to understand medical malpractice does not cover claims that arise from sexual misconduct, criminal acts, and alteration of medical records.
Reason Professionals and Hospitals Need Medical Malpractice Insurance
Mistakes Happen
Each doctor sees numerous patients daily, and each patient expects the professional to cure and understand their illness. They are responsible for diagnosing, treating and advising patients on the affected condition.
The medical field is filled with complex jobs, and even trusted doctors may make mistakes. These mistakes can include misdiagnosis, prescription errors or surgical errors. When a doctor makes a mistake, it is known as medical negligence and can cause serious patient harm.
When patients believe they have been harmed or their illness has increased due to medical negligence, they may take legal action against the professional and health organisation. Medical professionals try their best to avoid mistakes, but things don’t always go as planned – especially after long work hours and job intensity.
The chance of medical negligence lawsuits is the number one reason to purchase medical malpractice insurance. As long as the medical negligence is accidental, the insurance will cover the costs related to the lawsuits. The policy will help defend cases and adequately compensate the affected patient.
Reputation Protection
It takes years for a doctor and medical business to gain a positive reputation. The reputation is always on thin ice in the medical industry. One medical practice lawsuit, false allegation or miscommunication can damage everything built.
Reputation damage can seriously harm a professional and business in any medical field. There is always a chance that patients may wrongfully blame and sue the doctor alleging negligence. Even if a claim is false, experts and companies must hire a legal team to deal with the allegations.
Having medical malpractice insurance can be a blessing in such cases. The insurance will cover such lawsuits and allow professionals to defend their cases and prove their innocence effectively. The insurance helps protect medical specialists protect their reputations in the worst cases.
Additionally, just having the insurance creates a good reputation image, as patients appreciate professionals have the policy to right their possible wrongs.
Focus Stays on Providing the Best Medical Practice
Only medical professionals will ever understand how tough the job is. Doctors, surgeons and nurses work in challenging situations and act quickly. The jobs come with a lot of stress, frustrations, expectations and long hours.
Professionals must ignore all these worries when performing their duty to provide the best medical service. One moment of confusion or doubt can result in disastrous outcomes. The stress can also be due to negligence claims, false accusations and more malpractice risks.
If doctors stress about such outcomes, there will be endless mistakes and worse. Hence a reason to purchase medical malpractice insurance is the feeling of knowing your liability is covered. Medical specialists can focus on their medical practice and make decisions without worrying about the chance of negative consequences. The insurance reduces liability stress before and after a complex surgery or medical procedure.
However, this does not mean that professionals can provide poor services, as the insurance will only cover purely accidental cases.
Financial Protection
When facing a liability lawsuit, they are various costs to fight the case or even get legal advice. The cost can be expensive, especially if the case is lost. Professionals and health organisations need to hire a medical malpractice lawyer, pay court fees and compensation/settlement fees if a suit is lost.
These costs can add up to a large amount, which can be used to treat patients instead. Serious medical malpractice cases can cost millions to defend and more, depending on the settlement payout. The costs vary depending on the case details and country.
As mentioned, financial coverage is a crucial reason to purchase medical malpractice insurance. The insurance will cover most costs related to the claim. The financial cover can help professionals and companies save vital funds to invest in equipment and improve medical procedures.
Can Cover All Medical Professionals
Different types of medical organisations exist, from hospitals, medical centres to various clinics. Each organisation has multiple employees/ medical experts that work under one roof. The organisation is liable for every employee and the service they provide.
Therefore if one employee makes a mistake, the whole company and the individual will be blamed. The medical organisation must care for their employee and protect them from claims and allegations.
When an organisation purchases medical malpractice insurance, they can request that the policy cover all their employees. The policy will cover each full-time medical employee working for the policyholder facility. It is the perfect cover extension which the medical experts will appreciate.
Who Needs Medical Malpractice Insurance?
The medical industry has professionals who have specific duties, tasks and treat their patients in different ways or assist in treatments.
Any professional or organisation that medically treats patients or provides medical advice needs medical malpractice insurance. The insurance will also benefit professionals who provide just health advice without prescriptions or surgeries. The insurance can be customised for the different profession’s risks and expertise.
Examples of medical professionals that need medical malpractice insurance include:
- Surgeons
- Physicians
- Paramedics
- Medical students/residents
- Dentists
- Registered nurses/nurse practitioners
- Veterinarian
- Psychiatrists/psychologists
- Chiropractors
- Physical therapists
The insurance can be purchased individually or as an organisation to protect all employees. The insurance might not be mandatory. But some organisations or medical councils in different countries may require or suggest purchasing the insurance when working under the company.
To understand more about the insurance and the different types of medical malpractice policies, read our article – All You Need to Know About Medical Malpractice Insurance.
To Learn More about medical malpractice insurance and get the best protection for your medical practice in Hong Kong and Asia, contact Red Asia Insurance.
