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Choosing the right Indemnity Provider

10 critical issues to consider when making your choice

1. ADVICE POINT

Assess whether your indemnity provider has any involvement in providing indemnity or any other form of insurance to GP surgeries or Federations and consider the potential conflict that may exist.

2. ADVICE POINT

Examine your indemnity policy and see whether it provides you with cover for activities that you are not willing or are not yet competent to undertake. Consider how being overinsured could create difficulty in your practice and permit employers to pressurise you to expand your role outside your expectations.

3. QUESTION

Does your indemnity provider have a wider strategy for the pharmacy profession and can they demonstrate that they consistently seek to actively develop it, often in the face of powerful forces of opposition?

4. QUESTION

Does your indemnity provider have experienced practice based pharmacists working in their offices to support you ?

5. ADVICE POINT

Assess whether your indemnity provider has the capacity or knowhow to provide additional risk management support based on operational primary care pharmacy experience as well as mentoring, advice and training to support your practice. This is especially important if you have recently been recruited to one of the NHS clinical pharmacists in General Practice scheme programmes or if you are working for a primary care network.

6. QUESTION

Does your indemnity provider offer practical support or a pharmacist representative to support your practice in the GP surgery in a matter that was not covered by your insurance policy because you had not yet triggered a claim under your insurance policy?

7. QUESTION

Does your indemnity provider handle the defence cases directly or pass them over to underwriters to deal with? Ask what experience they have of practice based pharmacist claims handling and of the development of risk management programmes based on experiences for the benefit of the wider practice based pharmacy community.

8. QUESTION

Is your indemnity provider a trade union and have they engaged with the NHS to raise concerns about; a) the long-term security of your role within the NHS  b) the inappropriate levels of banding for the new roles c) a contribution towards your indemnity with the NHS and are they now helping you to pursue your contribution from your Federation, Health Board or PCN employer? and is it an independent union that can provide union representation in employment meetings?

10. ADVICE POINT

Call your indemnity provider and talk about the technicalities of patient facing primary care pharmacy. If you are not confident that they fully understand your role, then consider what might happen if you are involved in a serious incident and you have reason to call them for advice or to ask them to handle the defence of your professional reputation.

10. ADVICE POINT

Review your current indemnity insurance to see whether you are paying for cover that you don’t need.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England; Company No 4746656.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association is an appointed representative in respect of insurance mediation activities only of
The Pharmacy Insurance Agency Limited which is registered in England and Wales under company number 2591975
and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Register No 307063)

The PDA Union is recognised by the Certification Officer as an independent trade union.

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