Indemnity Insurance: Is Your Dental Practice Insured?

 

Indemnity Insurance: Is Your Dental Practice Insured?

In this blog post, I am going to discuss an essential topic that every doctor should be aware of. More often we read cases in the newspapers where a patient died or suffered negatively due to doctor’s negligence or patients or their relatives sued hospitals or doctors for their unprofessional conduct. These issues are very sensitive, due to some malpractices or negligence of doctors and also because some hospitals are trying to get more money by recommending unnecessary medical tests and treatments, people started looking at doctor’s community with distrust. It is found that there has been a rise in the patient’s awareness and the judiciary authorities are more consumer-friendly now and have been asking doctors or hospitals to compensate their mistakes.

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According to a 2013 survey by Dr.Ashish Jha of Harvard School of Public Health, India recorded 5.2 million medico-legal cases in a year, for an incorrect prescription, wrong timing, and errors in surgery, incorrect drug, and dosage. Therefore, to protect doctors from the above financial risk, a special financial cover known as Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) is introduced.

 

What is Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Doctors are the professionals who face the risk of financial liability while practicing their profession. The amount they can be sued can be very high. Therefore they need a special financial cover to protect themselves financially when they are sued for unprofessional conduct, negligence or mistakes during treatments.

In short, Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) is an insurance policy specially meant for professionals like doctors, lawyers, Charted Accountants etc to cover liability falling on them as a result of errors, negligence, mistakes committed by them while rendering their professional service.

 

What does PII policy cover?

The policy covers all sums which the insured Doctor becomes legally liable to pay as damages to the third party in respect of any error or negligence committed while rendering professional service. Professional Indemnity Policy covers against following:

1. Professional Negligence

2. Unintentional breach of copyright or confidentiality

3. Loss of documents or data

4. Claim investigation costs

5. Offense & insult

6. Loss of goods or money

What PII does not cover?

1. Intentional damage

2. Claims and circumstances known before issuance of the policy

3. Act of Terrorism or war

4. Contractual liability

5. Insolvency of the insured

 

 

Which insurance companies provide PII for Doctors in India?

Insurance companies like United India Insurance, The New India Assurance Co. Pvt. Ltd., Reliance General Insurance, ICICI Lombard GIC Ltd, offer PII policy coverage for Doctors in India.

How to select the sum assured?

In professional Indemnity Policy, the sum insured is referred to as Limit of Indemnity. This limit is fixed per accident and per policy period which is called Any One Accident (AOA) limit and Any One Year (AOY) limit respectively.

The AOA limit, which is the maximum amount payable by the doctor for each accident, should be fixed depending upon the nature of treatment and the worst possible damage that could happen to the patient.

 

How to claim?

In case you feel that any event will likely to give rise to a liability claim, you should inform your insurance company immediately.

In case you receive any legal notice or summons, it should be sent to the insurance company. The company has the authority to arrange defense on your behalf.

The maximum amount payable will also include defense cost which will be included in AOA limit selected. The AOY limit will get reduced by the amount of claim paid for any one accident. Any number of such claims should not exceed the AOY limit.

How much does it cost?

Normally the premium for PII is 0.30% to 1 % of the amount insured. So if you wish to get a professional indemnity insurance for sum insured of 5 Lakh; then your premium may range from Rs.450 to 5000 The premiums may vary from company to company as well as depending on the doctor’s specialty, seniority, practice, equipment used etc. majorly. It will be a year policy, every year the doctor has to enter into a fresh agreement.

 

What if you don’t have a PII cover?

Indian patients treat doctors as next to God, but now the situation is changing. The fact is that Doctors are also humans who can commit mistakes during treatment. Hence it completely makes sense to have professional indemnity insurance to secure your dental/ medical practice.

Source : DentistFriend

Challenges Faced By Married Women In Dentistry & Solutions!

 

Challenges Faced By Married Women In Dentistry & Solutions!

The life of a woman is a series of multitasking jobs. She studies, takes care of her parents, has a career, gets married, takes care of her new family and also ensures to shape the future of her kids. In this entire cycle, her career can sometimes reach the pinnacle of success but majority of times, it takes a back seat. I’m happy to share this real ground bottom reality with everyone and overwhelming odds we face day in and day out in our personal and professional life. I know a few people would disagree with my views but I am also sure that many women dentist would agree with what I have to say.

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Recently, I was at a dental awards function and I got to know about a lot of success stories of women in dentistry but, somewhere within me a question kept coming about the indomitable spirit of a woman which lies in her home, the home that she nurtures in her heart and mind. For a woman dentist the biggest challenge is whether she should be a hands on dentist or a hands on mother, wife or both.

 

I have read, seen and experienced how a married woman dentist undergoes 360 degree change once they are on family way. Childbearing and rearing, family responsibilities and social commitments have a deep impact. Though some woman are able to break the cultural and the psychological barrier and rise, on the other hand some give in to the family pressures .The decision is either to do part time or a full time practice or to completely quit for family and domestic commitments. This decision does not depend on her alone but also on the family support that she gets willingly. Our profession is mentally and physically demanding and though women are considered mentally strong, under certain circumstances we all can have stress and burn out. A woman dentist is considered successful if she has balanced her family and professional life.

 

The thin line between success and failure can be overcome by the following modalities;

1. One can start group practice with like minded women

2. Specialization is the key: One can devote her time to a particular specialty be it Cosmetic Dentistry, Endodontics etc.

3. You can keep the work hours flexible and take appointments at a suitable time. The bottom line is that the practice should not be dependent on you and should be able to run on an auto pilot mode.

4. Last but not the least,  a dentist being a life partner for her can be a blessing in disguise.

 

To end it all I would say being a woman is the most wonderful gift of God and let not the woman in each of us hamper our professional success and personal commitment.

The pressures shouldn’t bog down the energy to do it all and keep achievement as the essence of womanhood, be it in your personal or professional life. Be persistent. The ambition with which you walked into your undergrad school on the first day and the dreams and aspirations you hold so dear to your heart should keep firing the fuel of your ambitions and  you should be a go getter

There is much more to the womanhood that each one of us can see. So thumbs up to the woman power until we meet again…….

Source : DentistFriend

Dental Practice Management: Grow and Let Others Grow!

 

Dental Practice Management: Grow and Let Others Grow!

Dear All,

It is in almost every group or discussion forum, there is a discussion of fellow dentist criticizing/badmouthing the other in front of patients or ridiculing his/her work or charges. Unfortunately, in our profession, unlike hotel management students, we do not undergo a grooming school, and our work behavior is based on what we learnt in the clinic we did our observer ship. All of a sudden, from doctors we become businessman from the 1st day of our clinic opening. Though, not any expert or fault free, after 8 years of practice, I feel mature enough to share my thoughts to fresher who are about to start or recently got into practice.

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1. Stay Focused:

Your practice doesn’t grow 1% by bringing down someone else’s name nor would the other practice go down even 0.5% with your fruitless efforts. Concentrate on your work.

 

2. Filter Unnecessary Talks:

Patients would love to share their bad experiences with previous dentist. Curtail those talks and stick to basics of chief complaint, followed by diagnosis and treatment plan.

 

3. Use Alternate Terminology:

Instead of telling the patient, “Bahot bekaar filling ki hai aapki” “Filling you are having is hopeless” modify your talks like, “There are some issues with the filling and hopefully I will be able to address them better.”

 

4. Learn From Those Who Run Referral Practice:

Your oral surgeon doesn’t tell the patient that you have messed up a 3rd molar extraction. He simply does it and sends the patients. He is even ready to bear the complications which you might have made. Treat patients from other clinics in a similar way.

 

5. Keep Your Charges Justified:

Sky has no limit, but ground has. Keep your charges for every procedure in a justified manner. Keeping them too low cannot kill your competitor. Moreover, you lose growth and clinical expansion.

 

6. Don’t Be Overawed:

Meeting dentists from metros, don’t be influenced by their lifestyle of Mercs and BMWs. It is just a part. You never know what they went through to achieve this, including legal battles and strokes. But they have the best lawyers and best hospitals to keep them running. So run a healthy practice and have patience.

 

7. Stay Connected:

Meet your colleagues to share knowledge not grudges or discuss charges.

8. Do Not Out Rightly Reject Fellow Dentist’s Treatment Plan:

Everyone has his own way of thinking. If the other feels, his way would provide relief and long term solution, respect it. Be a doctor, not judge. Tell the patient, “I would or I can do it this way, please make a decision and chose your treating doctor.”

 

9. Stay Alive:

Don’t leave your hobbies. Cricket, music or dance or whatever, for me photography as a recent hobby, relaxes you so much that you, by default, stays away from unnecessary stuff. Don’t leave them, rather inculcate one.

 

10.Take Care Of Yourself:

Dentistry is a killer. It will break your back and neck. Let it not break your heart by going green with jealousy.

 

As always, keep smiling!

Source : DentistFriend

Myths & Facts About Doctors

 

Myths & Facts About Doctors

Myth 1: "Only medical profession is a noble profession"

 

Fact: Every profession, whether of a teacher, soldier, tailor or shopkeeper, is noble, if done with sincerity and integrity. A careless doctor can kill one, a careless  driver can kill dozens, a careless engineer can kill hundreds..

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Myth 2: "As it is a service to humanity, doctors should not run after money."

Fact: Money is an important measure of success. Running after it is not good for anybody, but earning more money by doing more work is not a moral crime. And all who advising doctors, themselves running after money, aren't they?

 

Myth 3: "Most of the time, doctors do not understand the disease and write unnecessary and costly drugs and advise tests and treat on a trial basis."

 

Fact: First of all, the doctor patient relationship is based on trust, if you do not trust your doctor, go to another one. Medical science is a lifelong learning process, and all treatment, to some extent is based on trial and error. The same medicine, which works for one patient may not work on another. 

 

Second, the responsibility of providing quality drugs at affordable prices lies not with the doctor, but with the state authorities, just like providing for better roads, unadulterated quality food and dairy products, uninterrupted power and water supply etc and etc. Like cloths, cars and mobile phones, costly drugs are generally better than cheap ones. However, if the government makes it mandatory to write generics, it should ensure quality and the consequence of poor/non efficacy should not be blamed on doctors.

 

Third, tests are done for patient’s own safety. Just like wearing a helmet or seat belt, investigations increase the safety. Most of the doctors in india are trained to work on clinical hunch and common sense and not rely too much on tests, and advise much less tests than what is actually written in the book or done in the developed world.

 

Myth 4: "Treatment costs are increasing irrationally."

 

Fact: As compared to western world, treatment costs in India are still very low, and many foreigners are coming here for this reason. And it would be worthwhile to think about any other service or product with as rapid advancement in technology and equipment as medical science, whose cost is not increasing

 

Myth 5: "Doctors are next to God."

 

Fact: Doctors are as human as can be. They also get tired, fall sick, have family commitments, get upset and stressed sometimes and can suffer from all the frailties of a human being. If anyone wanted to be treated by God then they can visit the temple.

Source : DentistFriend

5 Time Management Tips For Private Dental Practitioners

 

5 Time Management Tips For Private Dental Practitioners

Time once gone does not come back. Therefore, it is essential to utilize every minute of life in a useful way. Every day, dentists are facing various cases in their dental career and have several other responsibilities too. This makes it necessary for us to stay active round the clock. If you can manage your time well, then you can achieve all the best around you.

Here are some of the best time management strategies which will help you utilize your time well without getting stressed or aging too soon! 

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1. Plan your day: 

Get up early in the morning and plan your day for just 10-15 minutes. Write down the tasks in a sequence of the priority. For instance, write in the arrangement of high, medium and low priorities. Then execute them. You can even have virtual assistants for yourself to handle the routine online tasks. Trust me; this saves an ample of time on daily basis. 

 

2. Stay on top of your appointments:

As a dentist, it is your prime responsibility to make sure that every patient is served well and his dental problems are cured at the earliest possible time. Make sure you give the time to every patient in a range and not exactly in hours. This is because you can have an extended patient procedure. It will make the next patient wait for too long. So, don’t over promise. Just be flexible and make this clear to your patients too. They will thank you for your genuine concern! 

 

3. Use technology:

Yes! Make technology your friend. Make sure that you gradually start utilizing various time-saving apps. These apps serve the best for everyone irrespective of your experience of using such apps. Put reminders and just focus on your patient cases. You will get reminder alarms at the set time. You can then finish off your tasks. Just use one app and keep things simple. I assure you that you will never forget any of your tasks throughout the day. 

 

4. Automate whenever possible:

You can use various invoicing and patient payment software to make your clinic’s accounting smoother and faster. These days there are several levels of software available for the dentists and dental clinics. Always talk to the respective company regarding how they will save your time with their innovative services. Get the best one for your clinic. Remember that automation is for the long term, so make sure you choose the best one. 

 

5. Be prepared for emergencies:

You are a doctor, and in the clinic, you can anytime face an emergency. So you need to be prepared for it. Educate your team at the dental clinic regarding the common type of emergencies which usually happen in the dental clinics. Make sure they have a clear concept of it. It ensures that you don’t waste valuable time at such crucial moment. 

 

Thus, every dentist can utilize these simple yet effective strategies to ensure a boost in their dental career. Time is highly valuable. Value your time, and it will value you twice. 

Source : DentistFriend