After two years of negotiation, our new MPP was launched last month. So far, we have received a lot of enquires from members. However, the number of members enrolled for the plan stayed low at 30 odd. There is still a long way to go before we can make the deal. If the number of returns do not reach 300 by the end of August 2004, we may have to wait till September, October, November or even longer. Do we wish to see that happen? Do we wish a spontaneous abortion of the new MPP?
Members may recall that there is a deadline for the enrolment. This deadline is arbitrarily set in the hope that those members who are interested and who are sick of ever increasing cost of medical protection recently would respond and join us in time so that we can get the plan started in September or early October this year. Our first MPP was withdrawn in September 2002 because of great losses suffered by the insurance industry due to the 911 tragedy in
So, if you are interested, please act fast to help us to give birth to the new MPP. All you have to do is to return the completed proposal form together with a cheque for HK$ 9,800.00 to HKDU NOW. You don’t have to worry about the expiry date of your present medical protection plan, e.g. MPS, as we are here to make sure that you would get the value for the dollar you pay. Please refer to circular no. 0440 for details.
Now, I would like to take you through three important questions that we have encountered.
Only HKDU members who are practising in the following fields of medicine would be able to join - General Practitioners and Specialists in Community / Family Medicine, Dermatology, General Medicine, Neurology, Paediatrics, Pathology, Psychiatry and Rheumatology.
Since there is an excess of HK$ 5,000.00 and a limit of indemnity of HK$ 7,500,000.00 for each and every claim, we would expect subscribers to practise good and safe medicine, and to refer patients to colleagues in appropriate specialties for operations other than the Approved List of Minor Operations as stated in the enclosed circular no. 0440.
For those members who are doing Obstetrics and Cosmetics, or who may venture into areas (I would not recommend) outside their fields, they are advised to subscribe to other plans, e.g. MPS, with “supposed” unlimited amount of indemnity.
This is an obvious question in everyone of us, including myself.
My answer is this is possible. There is no guarantee for the plan to run forever. However, one thing for certain, this is the only alternate plan available in the world for doctors in Hong Kong. Actually, we have negotiated with insurance agencies in medical protection in
The major task facing every one of us is to convince the government, the legislators and the Hong Kong Community that if there is no ceiling on the amount of compensation for medical mishap, Hong Kong doctors will be handicapped in the beginning and will become “completely paralyzed” soon in the management of patients. This would be a disaster to the health of the community. However, such lobbying takes time. It may be more than ten years before there is legislature in Hong Kong governing the limit of compensation for medical mishap as in some states of the USA or sooner if we doctors would take some drastic actions, like strikes by doctors in New York one year ago.
For your information, Asia Insurance Co., Ltd., insurer of the new MPP, is actually running another MPP with the public doctors in Hong Kong starting few months ago. Asia Insurance Co., Ltd. is the only insurer in the world that undertook the public liability insurance for the recent 4th June "Candle Light Gathering" in Hong Kong. Her director is the Legislative Council representative for the Insurance Industry and these are the data that I could pass on to you all for the time being.
So the better answer to the above question is that the more number of members supporting the plan, the longer it will stay. This scenario is not much different from that of other medical protection plan like the MPS.
The new MPP will “…indemnify the Insured against any Claim which may be made against the Insured and notified to the Company during the Period of Insurance for actual or alleged breach of professional duty in the Provision of Medical Services by reason of any act, error or omission committed or allegedly committed by the Insured resulting in bodily injury, sickness, or mental injury to any patient of the Insured provided that the alleged act, error or omission occurs after the retroactive date stated in the Schedule…” You must understand that only cases involving actual injury to your patients during the course of your management will be covered by this plan.
If you look at our Professional Code and Conduct, only a portion on clause A on Professional Responsibilities to Patients would be covered. Other sections in the Professional Code and Conduct like Communication in Professional Practice, Drugs, Financial Arrangements, Relationships with Other Practitioners and Abuse of Professional Position would not be covered. In other words, things like oversized-signboard, canvassing, sexual misconduct, improper record of dangerous drugs, improper financial arrangement, improper drug labeling, false documentation, dishonest issuing of sick leave certificate or receipt etc. would not be covered. And you have to know this jolly well before you enroll.
Now, your Council has been working hard on this issue in the past two years and the new MPP is the one and only one plan that we can secure in the world to offer for our members. I think by now you should know the pros and cons of the new MPP. I hope that by so doing, your Council has served to offer an alternative to our members on the issue of medical protection. I do hope that those who have been subscribers of the old MPP (total 376 in number) and those who have responded to our questionnaire on MPP in March and April 2003 would think seriously about the new plan and send us a cheque as soon as possible if you wish to enroll. Let’s create a miracle this time again by helping in the Normal Spontaneous Delivery of the new MPP. If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our Agent, HKDU Secretariat, your Council and even me at 24956268.
Dr. Yeung Chiu Fat Henry