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Sue your doctor ... you must be joking

Medical profession renowned for under declaration of income

If you are thinking of suing your surgeon or doctor be warned, Maltese doctors are not insured in case of patient-doctor litigation.

This state of affairs is directly linked to the false declaration of true income by medical practitioners which has blocked the introduction of insurance policies for doctors in Malta.

Indeed at present most insurance companies are reluctant to offer insurance policies to the medical profession because of what they describe as ‘laughable declarations’ made by the profession.

The abuse in not declaring true income was confirmed by many people in the insurance sector, although none of the individuals who voiced their concern wished to be named.

The controversy over the income of medical practitioners was sparked off by a Bondicini programme. The TV programme showed that for 2000 only 7% of all doctors declared an income from private practice of more than Lm10,000 a year.

Speaking to MaltaToday a senior executive working with a renowned insurance company said professionals in the medical field were trying to take everybody else for a ride.

The TV programme stated: "If a family practitioner sees 20 patients a day, five days a week and charges Lm4 visit, the income from private practice alone would amount to around Lm 20,000 a year."

But local insurance companies told MaltaToday that this was a very conservative estimate with consultants and surgeons hitting the Lm80,000 threshold and much more fairly easily.

"Most doctors are workhorses and they work six days a weeks at least," they said. "There are surgeons who carry out operations in private hospitals in the early morning before appearing for their consultations at St Luke’s Hospital and earn Lm1000 a day."

The doctors’ association - MAM - has said in a statement that "anybody who has had to repair his fridge, washing machine or computer would realise that Maltese patients get good value for money from doctors."

But MAM, it seems, is getting the wrong end of the stick. No question is being put on what doctors charge but rather on what they do not declare.

In the majority of cases, medical practitioners work hard to earn their qualifications, and to purchase equipment for their clinics, and to give their utmost to their patients and work hard to keep the medical profession a serious business.

The Bondicini programme said should MAM wish to question their (the Inland Revenue Department figures) veracity, they might want to take the matter up with the IR Department directly.

MAM’s president, Dr Stephen Fava, has said: "Since Malta is small, local insurance companies would find that a group policy would not have the substantial market to support it."

He said that to his knowledge there was no form of group insurance to cover medical practitioners against medical malpractice, although he could not tell whether any practitioners were covered by individual insurance.

In fact the official statistics would have one believe that medical practitioners would find it difficult to support a medical malpractice insurance policy as individuals, especially when one finds that the premium might vary from Lm 1,000 to Lm 5,000 yearly.

Certain practitioners have actually taken out a private insurance policy against medical malpractice with insurance firms abroad.

Most doctors have attendance in private and public clinic, others have operations held in private clinics and other still have commissions on the amount of medicines they prescribe and are sold in pharmacies or for any particular pharmaceutical company.

The pharmaceuticals industry is well known to depend on the prescription trends with doctors.

And with the thorny question of tax evasion so topical, it is no wonder that people are sceptical about the fairness of the system.

THE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE QUESTION