As an Australian Medical Indemnity Insurer, we are here to protect our medical doctors and medical practitioners against the many risks associated with changing and emerging telemedicine risks.
Having appropriate Medical Malpractice Insurance and/or Medical Practice Insurance ensure you are well on your way to being protected, but prevention is the best remedy. So here are a few suggestions to keep you and your practice safe:
- Practitioners should also consider the security of other devices that they use for sending emails.
- Computers and tablets with email management systems that allow email to be accessed on the desktop without logging in are a potential privacy risk.
- You should avoid sending patient images from an email address that is connected to an email management system.
- Practitioners should also implement automatic log off on computers and laptops at home and at work that are used to capture and store patient images, and change computer passwords regularly.
- Where videoconferencing is being used, the room should be adequately sound-proofed and access should be restricted to those permitted according to the patient’s consent. Any video recording of the consultation needs to be securely stored.
- When consent for using an image for teaching or research purposes is appropriately obtained, best practice dictates that the image should be de-identified where possible.
Medical Indemnity Insurers
Medical practitioners and health professionals should embrace all the new and novel approaches to health care that benefit patients and doctors. However, you should take appropriate precautions, to ensure sensitive patient information does not fall into the wrong hands.
Medical indemnity insurers such as Tego provide specialised medical indemnity insurance for doctors in Australia. The insurance includes additional support services, such as a 24/7 direct line to highly experienced medical lawyers for doctors needing advice regarding their legal obligations and potential liabilities in any given situation.
We know Medical Practice Insurance in Australia is one of the most complex areas of general insurance and is often the most misunderstood. That’s why you need to ensure you have a medical indemnity provider who understands the complexities of the healthcare. Contact a Medical Practice or Medical Indemnity Insurance advisor to find out more.
This publication is general in nature and is not comprehensive or constitute 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.