Summ

Me

mary An

edical Indemni

nnual R

ty Protection S(Limi

Report

Society Ltd anited by Guara

ABN

2011/1

nd its subsidiantee and ShaN 64 007 067

12

aries res) 281

   

 

Member benefits

As a member organisation, MIPS is committed to providing a range of benefits to members to meet their needs in accordance with the MIPS constitution.

MIPS Protections √

MIPS Members’ Medical Indemnity Insurance Policy √

MIPS Members’ Practice Entity Policy* √

MIPS Members’ Group Personal Accident Policy* √

Medico-legal advice (24/7 advice helpline) √

Risk management workshops & advice √

Medico-legal seminars and training √

Online risk management modules √

Range of Club MIPS member benefits √

MIPS review and MIPS student review √

* These membership benefits do not apply to Student Membership Categories

Medico-legal advice and claims assistance

One of the many facets of MIPS that makes MIPS different is that all MIPS medico-legal advisors and claims file managers are experienced, senior, medical or dental practitioners. All MIPS medico-legal advisors and claims file managers have substantial experience in clinical practice and this expertise is brought to the fore in the advice and assistance they provide to members in need. Their professional specialties include: general practice, obstetrics / gynaecology, anaesthetics, orthopaedic surgery, general surgery, internal medicine, pain management, general dentistry, endodontics and prosthodontics.

During the 2011/12 membership year, MIPS received just under 4,000 new contacts from members seeking advice, solace, assistance and support. Approximately 85% of these contacts related to non-liability matters such as advice on matters or incidents deemed not likely to give rise to a claim.

Claims trends remain unchanged. The most significant claims by patients still relate to a failure and/or delay in diagnosis (principally breast and skin cancer) and delays in referral for investigation of suspicious bowel symptomatology. What makes the latter difficult to defend is if there is a failure to undertake a basic rectal examination at the time of presentation and delay or lack of priority in the referral for subsequent specialist investigation.

The extent of access to MIPS comprehensive and flexible membership benefits is determined by the membership category selected by a member. MIPS continues to expand the benefits it provides members in anticipation of and/or response to developing needs while keeping associated paperwork to a necessary minimum.

An on-going adverse trend is the number of claims arising from patients seen with presenting symptoms of cardiac origin where some basic diagnostic investigations are performed but a diagnosis is not made. Often in these cases, the ECG is unremarkable and troponin is in the normal range giving practitioners false confidence that other differential diagnoses should be explored. Unfortunately, in many cases the patient subsequently dies within days or weeks from ischaemic heart failure.

  

 

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MIPS Summary 

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 Annual Report

successful$35 million

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stralian Prudeng regime bec

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MIPS Managing Director and MIPS Insurance Chief Executives Officer's report

I am pleased to report that the financial results for the MIPS Group to 30 June 2012 have further strengthened MIPS. They include:

• $35 million increase in members’ surplus (net assets) to $185 million • $68 million increase in total members’ assets to $395 million • 5% increase in member numbers • additional strengthening of MIPS Insurance solvency

The most significant factors contributing to the result were:

• Significantly better than expected claims expense. The better than anticipated claims experience of our members was seen particularly in relation to prior year claims where we were able to finalise a number of significant matters for much less than their reserved amount

• A better than budgeted investment result despite challenging and volatile investment conditions. The 2011/12 result continues MIPS track record of achieving a positive investment result each year

• Continuing growth in member numbers • Sustained focus on containing the cost of operations.

MIPS exists to support its members and membership subscriptions are calculated from the ground up each year to ensure MIPS can continue to provide members with very high levels of security on an on-going stable and sustainable basis.

Towards the end of the 2011/12 year MIPS considered the better than expected claims experience and anticipated increased levels of solvency, when setting MIPS 2012/13 membership subscription reference rates. Members will be aware that membership subscriptions are individually determined and reflect factors such as the exposure each member has to claims arising from their current and past practise including geographic locations of that practise.

Reinsurance arrangements were further enhanced for 2011/12 and 2012/13. This further reduces the possible exposure of the MIPS Group to the effects of claims - especially infrequent but high value medical indemnity claims - and therefore decreases the potential for volatility in MIPS Group financial results. Through such mitigation MIPS is even better placed to provide high levels of financial security and stability for members.

MIPS maintains a prudent claims reserving policy and has again chosen to reserve medical indemnity liabilities at a higher level of sufficiency than that required under the prudential standards of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. This decision by MIPS Insurance provides MIPS members with further confidence that their medical indemnity provider will be well capitalised over the long period required to finalise medical indemnity claims.

MIPS exists to:

• support and protect the character and interests of legally qualified health care practitioners and of persons legally entitled to practice medicine, surgery or a related health care discipline

• support and protect the character and interests of Members • promote honourable and to discourage irregular practice • consider, originate, promote and support, or oppose legislative or other measures affecting Members.

These objectives are documented in the MIPS Constitution and form the focus for what we do. During the year, in accordance with those Constitutional objectives, MIPS moved to protect members through decreasing the potential for adverse patient outcomes in respect of Naltrexone implants, non-TGA registered products and female genital surgery.

  

 

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MIPS Summary 

of membershian peers) as wcal indemnity,

membership becom.au.

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 Annual Report

ip benefits sucwell as a numb, practice entitenefits can be

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Services Revie

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Medical Indemnity Protection Society Ltd and its subsidiaries Statement of comprehensive income For the year ended 30 June 2012

Group Society

2012 2011 2012 2011

$’000 $’000 $’000 $’000

Operating income 61,216 57,167 67,382 60,476

Reinsurance and other recoveries revenue 6,062 14,787 - -

Investment result 14,755 14,978 5,229 3,757

Total income 82,033 86,932 72,611 64,233

Claims expense (12,055) (46,856) - -

Master policy expenses (2,927) (2,873) (40,825) (39,669)

Other operating expenses (13,141) (12,800) (13,228) (12,867)

Outwards reinsurance premium expense (13,480) (5,713) - -

Indemnification benefit/(expenses) 2,656 2,107 2,502 1,916

Insurance levy (1,769) (1,849) - -

Total expenses (40,716) (67,984) (51,551) (50,620)

Profit before income tax 41,317 18,948 21,060 13,613

Income tax (expense)/benefit (6,243) (1,697) (220) (141)

Profit for the year 35,074 17,251 20,840 13,472

Net fair value gains on available for sale financial assets (696) 614 (696) 614

Income tax on items of other comprehensive income 209 (184) 209 (184)

Other comprehensive income, net of tax (487) 430 (487) 430

Total comprehensive income for the year 34,587 17,681 20,353 13,902

  

 

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sets

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ment

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s

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51,55

23,45

192,24

6,24

26,97

300,47

56,86

35,92

53

1,67

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395,47

31,17

4,00

18,72

50,15

67

104,74

95,63

9,74

105,37

210,12

185,35

10

1,15

184,10

185,35

MIPS Summary 

ubsidiar

Group

2 201

00 $’00

52 34,99

55 7,67

43 180,22

49 8,82

74 3,9

73 235,62

67 56,5

24 32,88

39 69

-

74 1,32

04 91,4

77 327,04

78 5,35

08 29

26 17,9

53 34,3

77 2,59

42 60,46

32 102,36

47 13,44

-

79 115,8

21 176,27

56 150,76

00 10

51 1,63

05 149,03

56 150,76

 Annual Report

ries

11 20

00 $’0

92 37,6

75 29,9

22 54,7

27

12 32,8

28 155,1

12 17,9

87 2,4

91 4

- 6,5

26

16 27,4

44 182,5

56 36,8

91

10

14 50,1

90 6

61 87,6

65

49 3,2

- 3

14 3,6

75 91,2

69 91,3

00 1

38 1,1

31 90,0

69 91,3

t 2011/12

Society

012 2

000 $’

660 15,

900 8,

749 55,

9 2,

846 10,

164 92,

988 15,

473 3,

465

508 6,

-

434 26,

598 118,

808 2,

-

-

153 34,

677 2,

638 39,

-

244 7,

385

629 7,

267 47,

331 70,

100

151 1,

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331 70,

7 

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588

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-

-

,314

,590

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553

,708

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,978

100

,638

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,978

   

 

Summary Annual Report 2011/12 Medical Indemnity Protection Society Ltd ABN 64 007 067 281 AFS Licence 301912

1800 061 113 | mips.com.au