If you are a medical practitioner and you need to rent office space from a medical practitioner or practice owner who has appropriate facilities, there are measures you need to take to mitigate any risks. Medical Practice Insurance is one such measure. Here are our suggestions to keep your practice safe and protected.
Medical Indemnity Insurance for the room rental contract
You will need a written contract, which is best drafted and negotiated via lawyers who specialise in contracts and understand the healthcare landscape. This ensures that the terminations and services are fair and equitable for all parties. It is important both parties consider what cover is available under their respective medical indemnity insurance and medical practice insurance policies.
There are instances where room rentals agreements are informal but that is no way to protect your medical practice or reputation. Your medical practice must run smoothly and its operation is too important to be at risk by not having appropriate insurance arrangements.
Is your medical indemnity insurance up to date?
Again, be certain that you have all of the right insurances in place. Room rental medical practitioners may need to hold their own public liability. In addition ensure your medical indemnity will cover you and consider whether a practice indemnity policy is also required. Speak to your insurance advisor or medical indemnity insurer if you need clarity around these issues.
Selecting the right rooms and services
When renting space, you must do due diligence on the practice and arrangement between you and the practice. Are their staff, procedures, and facilities adequate and meet the appropriate standards? One aspect you may want to consider if is the medical practice has a practice manager and that the practice has formal accreditation carried out by an independent accreditation agency. In Australia, there are five Australian accreditation agencies that general practices are able to choose from to gain accreditation against the Standards:
- AGPAL
- Quality Practice Accreditation
- The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards
- Global-Mark
- Institute for Health Communities Australia Certification
The rooms you are renting will have a real strong influence on your patient’s comfort, their opinion of you and your reputation. Choosing the right sessional rooms is as essential as if you were buying a building or leasing long term permanent real estate.
Have a plan B
There is no way to predict a natural disaster or fire, let alone if the rooms end up being sold to another owner. That is why Plan B means having a business continuity plan, so you will be able to see patients even if you can not access those rooms.
Do they have the right medical professional indemnity insurance in place
Let the team at Tego Insurance help you to ensure you are protected if things go wrong.
We are Australian medical indemnity insurance providers and cover your practice with medical indemnity insurance, doctors indemnity insurance, GP medical indemnity insurance, medical malpractice insurance, medical practice insurance, and more. If you are a health practitioner with Tego, we offer 24/7 medico-legal advice and support to guide you through what you need to know when renting sessional rooms.
This publication is general in nature and is not comprehensive or constitutes legal or medical advice. You should seek legal, medical or other professional advice before relying on any content, and practice proper clinical decision making with regard to individual circumstances. Persons implementing any recommendations contained in this publication must exercise their own independent skill or judgment or seek appropriate professional advice relevant to their own particular practice. Compliance with any recommendations will not in any way guarantee discharge of the duty of care owed to patients and others coming into contact with the health professional or practice. Tego Insurance Pty Ltd is not responsible to you or anyone else for any loss suffered in connection with the use of this information.
All content on this page has been written in a generic way, and has not been presented with any knowledge of your personal objectives or financial needs.