Professional indemnity practices for physiotherapists in the European Union

Abstract

Relevance: Article 4.2 (d) of the Directive 2011/24/EU titled “Directive on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare” stipulated, as one of the responsibilities of the Members States that systems of professional liability insurance, or similar arrangements that is equivalent or essentially comparable as regards it purpose, are in place for treatment provided in its territory”. The directive was implemented as national law in all European Member States in October 2013 which consequently led to the mandatory purchase of a professional indemnity cover by all health care professionals, including physiotherapists. As a result of the Directive it is still unknown how membership practices within professional associations has been influenced. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to capture the professional indemnity practices and/or any changes in the professional indemnity practices of the Member Organisations within the European Region of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (ER-WCPT) before and after the implementation of Directive 2011/24/EU. Methods/analysis: A cross-sectional study was implemented via a questionnaire and analysed using descriptive analysis. The target population were the 39 MO's of the ER-WCPT. The dataset of contact persons of the MO's was retrieved from the ER-WCPT website. Results: 20/39 MO's replied to the survey. 16 of the respondents were MOs from countries of the EU. 18 of the MO's claim to have members in their association who have a professional indemnity cover. 10 of the respondents (seven being Member States) state that it is not a legal obligation for physiotherapists to have a professional indemnity cover in their country. 10 of the MO's have more than 80% of their members who have a professional indemnity cover and only two of them do not have information on the number of members who have a professional indemnity cover. Five of the MO's (all Member States) offer a professional indemnity cover as part of their membership scheme, and all of them have implemented this membership practice prior to implementation of the directive as national law that is by 2013. Only seven of the respondents that do have a professional indemnity cover as part of their membership scheme have implemented an awareness campaign on professional indemnity covers to their members. Discussion and conclusions: This study outlines an evident lack of knowledge about the Directive 2011/24/EU within the MO's of the ER-WCPT. There is still the wrong perception, that it is not a legal obligation to have a professional indemnity cover. Recommendations for future research would include exploring the various professional indemnity schemes characteristics and analysing what the national health systems (as major employers of the physiotherapy workforce in some of the EU Member States) are offering as an optional cover to be in line with terms stipulated by the Directive. Impact and implications: In their remit to promote good physiotherapy practices, MO's should promote professional indemnity insurance as part of their membership schemes as this is indeed a requirement for physiotherapists working within EU Member states.