It is common practice today for medical practices to generate additional income by renting out sessional rooms to other health practitioners – both medical and allied health.
It is common practice today for medical practices to generate additional income by renting out sessional rooms to other health practitioners – both medical and allied health.
What is not common is to consider the insurance implications of such decisions.
These decisions can leave the business exposed as a result of the agreement that is entered into.
As an example, imagine ABC Medical Pty Ltd rented a spare room to a cosmetic nurse undertaking botox treatment. As part of the agreement, ABC Medical provided the syringes and other equipment used for the injections. One of the nurse’s patients developed severe pain after a treatment from an infection as a result of an unhygienic syringe. The patient took action against the nurse, and as the instruments used in the procedure were owned by ABC Medical, the practice was named in the action as well.
Another example may be a visiting specialist, who’s name is listed on the door under ABC Medical. The specialist might request some pathology tests but when the results come in, the admin staff misfile them so that the correct results are not relayed to the doctor or patient, leading to a missed diagnosis. This would be an issue for ABC Medical as they were the entity that provided the administration services.
To protect against these scenarios, all parties should carry both public liability and medical indemnity insurance – both for the individual and the business entity as well.
The first step to ensuring your medical practiced is fully protected is to understand your risks. iMed Insurance can help you assess what insurance your practice has, and what other covers you need to make sure you’re protected.
If you think your insurances could need review, please get in touch with Andrew Harrison at iMed Insurance.
The material contained in this article is in the nature of general comment only, and neither purports, nor is intended to be advice on any particular matter. Persons should not act or rely upon any information contained in or implied by this article without seeking appropriate professional advice which relates specifically to his/her particular circumstances. Cutcher & Neale expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person, whether a client of Cutcher & Neale or not, who acts or fails to act as a consequence of reliance upon the whole or any part of this article.