On the island there is a kind of policy that is required by law to be able to practice medicine.
December 10, 2022 | | reading time: 4 minutes
Maria Del Pilar Medina, Vice President of Sales and Underwriting for PRMD. Photomontage: Journal of Medicine and Public Health.
Puerto Rico’s medical malpractice policy is an essential requirement for the doctors They can conduct their practice in the territory, and some hospitals even require that professionals have a policy that legally protects their activity before patients.
However, in addition to the fact that it is considered a requirement, so are the advantages that it provides insurance It looks bigger compared to the risks you might face the doctors On a daily basis.
On this subject, María Del Pilar Medina, Vice President of Sales and Underwriting of PRMD, explained in an exclusive interview to Medicina y Salud Publica the benefits of the insurance and the benefits of the medical malpractice policy that they offer the doctors Puerto Ricans.
“The most important thing about the policy is that the doctor can cover his or her personal assets. This medical malpractice policy operates on the basis of reported allegations, which means that the policy that will respond is the active policy at the time a claim is filed against Medina,” said Medina.
For Medina, “many Policies Property and contingent work on an on-occurrence basis, while lack of skill works when a claim is issued.”
In this regard, he gave an example: “The doctor is in contact with the patient in different periods, it may be that he attends him within a year, but that person who understands that the doctor has been subjected to medical malpractice, lodges a complaint in another period of the weather.”
In addition, Medina emphasized the importance of health professionals being able to prevent potential claims from their patients and reach agreements.
“We want to help them with prevention, if they ever have a suspicion of a lawsuit, they can contact us and take that prevention. We can try to work on that incident that might lead to a claim and prevent it from being a lawsuit.”
It is worth noting that this preventive advice is one of the services provided by the Puerto Rico Defense Medical Insurance Company.
The salesperson also clarified the issue of the retroactivity of insurance. “There is a time limit. The policy will cover a claim made during the policy period, as long as it is after the retroactive effect, which is usually from the date of the first policy that the doctor obtained insurance coverage.”
Likewise, in the event of a physician’s retirement, the medical malpractice policy granted to him or her may be extended to attend to future claims.
In this regard, Medina stated that “If a doctor retires, you do not have to continue to buy insurance, but you can purchase a period to extend coverage for claims submitted after they already had coverage.”
Another important factor to consider when purchasing an insurance policy is the deductible.
Based on the above, Medina stated, “The policy we offer is not deductible, and we assume on the first dollar, that it covers not only compensation but also defense expenses.”
Similarly, he explained, “The policy also includes out-of-court claims. It is triggered when there is a claim that a doctor is not complying with the standards set for them.” the doctorswhere such patient or third party was harmed and results in financial compensation.”
surely Policies that protect medical practice provide multiple benefits to clinicians; These benefits range from preventive advice to legal representation in cases that require it.
See the full interview here.