Practice Policy
NZMII have a long association with general practitioners and general practices and now we are stepping up to give both you and your practice peace of mind.
Protect your practice from medicolegal risk with NZMII’s new Practice Policy.
General Practices are increasingly vulnerable to medicolegal risk. As owners, directors and officers of a practice the onus is on you to ensure that your practice has the right level of protection.
Our new Practice Policy provides comprehensive insurance cover for your practice in the event of a complaint or investigation against the practice.
We know that General Practices come in all shapes and sizes so with this in mind NZMII have structured our Practice Policy to take this into account.
So whether you are a sole practitioner with two part-time employees or a large practice with multiple doctors, nurses, and administrative staff, as well as everything in between, we’ve got the right level of cover to fit your needs that won’t break the bank.
Importantly NZMII strongly believe in individual practitioner choice in terms of their own indemnity provider. Hence, the NZMII Practice Policy does not mandate that any medical practitioners or allied healthcare professionals within a practice also hold an individual NZMII policy and thus they are free to choose their own indemnity provider.
Protecting your practice shouldn’t be an onerous task so we’ve made it simple, quick and easy to get cover online within 24 hours so you can rest easy knowing your Practice is insured.
What is covered by the NZMII Practice Policy?
Read the Practice Policy Summary
1. Vicarious liability if a staff member has made, or is alleged to have made, an error or omission in the course of their role in providing health or disability care for the patients of the practice.
- Vicarious liability of a practice may arise under section 72 of the Health and Disability Commissioner Act (HDCA), where a member of the practice has breached the Code of Patient Rights.
- The vicarious liability of a practice may also arise independently of section 72. For example, a practice could be vicariously liable for breach of a patient’s confidential health information.
2. General liability arising from the acts or omissions of any employee or agent of the practice who is not a medical practitioner or allied healthcare professional (such as support or administrative staff) when the act or omission is directly related to the provision of health care or disability care.
3. Investigations by the HDC or by the Coroner, a privacy complaint, or a claim for compensation before the Human Rights Review Tribunal.
4. Legal representation for the practice independent of the individual responsible for the error or omission.
5. Exposure arising from an error or omission of the Practice in its own duties or functions as a provider of health or disability services. This may occur for example where the practice is said to have failed in its duty to provide adequate supervision or training to staff, or to ensure the adoption of appropriate protocols or guidelines.
What is NOT covered by the NZMII Practice Policy?
1. The NZMII Practice Policy covers the risk of liability of the operating entity, including those engaged in ownership or management of the entity, but only in that ownership or management capacity.
2. The policy does not provide malpractice cover for individual staff for their acts or omissions as medical practitioners, whether or not they are also an owner or manager of the entity.
3. Equally if you are a medical practitioner or other allied health professional your individual indemnity policy does not extend cover to the practice if you are also an owner or part of the management structure.
4. This means that the practice should have its own Practice Policy, and each individual medical practitioner or allied healthcare professional within the practice should have their own indemnity insurance policy.