Valuable insurance cover to protect your medical practice

In just the same way as you'd recommend the ideal combination of treatments to a patient to keep them in a more balanced and healthier state; similarly, the right mix of business coverage is important to protect your practice.

"If you consider the aspects of your practice that can be compromised (like the physical office structure, equipment and even the integrity of your patient medical records), it's easier to understand why it's vital to purchase insurance cover that can be tailored for your needs, while also being comprehensive enough to cover your practice should you ever need it," says Lana Ross, Chief Operating Officer of Discovery Business Insurance.

5 Kinds of cover you need for your medical practice

1. Business assets coverage: This coverage protects your physical office premises; as well as various items contained in your practice, such as waiting room furniture, examination room equipment, office and reception furnishings and computer equipment. Cover typically involves protection should your practice experience fire, theft, vandalism or even equipment breakdown.
2. General liability coverage: This kind of coverage helps to ensure that any costs or damages can be covered, should it be proven that your practice is liable if a patient, employee, vendor or anyone else is injured on your business premises. This cover can also apply if your practice is found to be liable for damage to another's property. Medical malpractice does not form part of this cover
3. Data compromise coverage: This cover is essential for protecting confidential patient information in electronic form, such as their identity, medical details, healthcare records and more. A cyber security policy is thus imperative in order to secure against a breach which compromises the integrity of your healthcare professional / patient relationship. Cover protects against losses should your records be damaged or even stolen.
4. Valuable papers and information records coverage: This coverage protects information and records that may be filed in paper form should any become damaged or destroyed.
5. Employer's liability coverage: This coverage helps a healthcare professional protect their practice against any potential litigation issues that may arise as a result of injury, illness or death of an employee that is deemed to be the fault of the healthcare professional.

Bespoke cover for healthcare professionals from Discovery Business Insurance

Through Discovery Business Insurance, healthcare professionals now have access to a bespoke insurance offering with embedded cover and benefits designed to best protect a medical practice against today's most relevant risks and help them work efficiently.

"These embedded cover innovations are included on the plan, but are also tailorable; so that healthcare professionals can increase their cover amount as required, giving them absolute peace of mind that risks are sufficiently taken care of," says Ross.

Innovative benefits available for healthcare professionals

1. Cover for medical equipment, property and possessions - valuable physical items, including ECG and X-ray machines, office equipment, laptops, cell phones, portable medical equipment, cash on site and motor vehicles.
2. Cover against crimes affecting the business - crime events such as cyber-attacks and theft of patient information, financial loss as a result of fraud or dishonesty related to employees, and loss or damage as a result of theft or attempted theft at the practice premises.
3. Liability cover for injuries or reputational damage - this includes cover for legal responsibilities as a result of a person experiencing injury while on your property, illness, injury or death caused to any employee, reputational damage due to a sensitive medical case and more.
4. Cover for business interruption losses - cover for the loss of income following interruption to normal operations due to physical damage to business property. This can be extended to cover a loss of revenue as a result of theft, damage to electronic equipment and loss or damage to business vehicles.
5. Protection of patients' confidential medical records. To keep patient information and data safe, healthcare professionals automatically receive R100 000 cyber insurance cover to protect against loss or theft of sensitive data, data recovery, ransomware and associated legal expenses; R50 000 business interruption cover following a cyber-event and an additional R50 000 to assist in managing the reputational damage incurred as a result of an insured cyber-event.
6. Medical reputation protection. Healthcare professionals automatically receive R100 000 crisis and reputational management cover to assist with handling a sensitive medical case, as well as 24/7 access to global reputational experts who specialise in handling medical crisis events. These experts will provide a full response strategy that is included in this cover.
7. Worldwide protection of portable medical equipment. As many healthcare professionals are on-the-go along with their equipment, this cover offers R20 000 for the loss of or damage to portable equipment, such as stethoscopes or glucometers.
8. Legal services cover. This cover is useful for ensuring that healthcare professionals receive expert legal assistance and access to information packs related to the POPI (Protection of Personal Information) Act. Included in the cover are client consent forms and assistance with the drafting of employment contracts.
9. Cellphone and iPad replacements or repairs within 1 business day in metropolitan areas.
10. Up to 25% (during the day) and 50% off Uber rides (between 23h00 and 04h00) after a long shift as a safer alternative to driving when too tired.
11. Healthcare professionals can get great rewards for managing their business risks well, such as up to 50% of their MTN business data spend back every month. They can also get up to 30% of their vehicle premiums back every year for driving well.

"The healthcare professional's product is underpinned by technology, key innovations and fast claims services. With this peace of mind in place, healthcare professionals are better enabled to focus on taking the best care of their patients each and every day," Ross concludes.

Watch this short video for an overview of the Healthcare professionals' product from Discovery Business Insurance: