www.independent-practitioner-today.co.uk
December 2015 – January 2016 Issue 77 £12.50
INDEPENDENT PRACTITIONER TODAY
The business journal for doctors in private practice
In this issue
Hit your website jackpot
The secrets of converting visitors to your aesthetics clinic website into clients P16
All you need is ... news
You really don’t need PR. What you need to promote your practice is news generation P20
A happy and prosperous
2016 to all
our readers
Protect staff from predators
How private practice staff can cut the risk of sexual harassment allegations arising P40
Check your indemnity
By Robin Stride
Independent practitioners experiencing falling incomes are being alerted they could be due a New Year defence subscription rebate if they have not told their defence organisation about their lower earnings. Equally, those with higher than anticipated incomes from private practice may need to pay extra if their changing situation has not already been accounted for. James Gransby, a partner at accountants MacIntyre Hudson, said doctors looking to decrease sessions or do more pre-indemnified work like NHS Choose and Book should ensure subscriptions are paid in the right tier as it could help get money back. ‘Costs are increasing and profits for some may be lower than exp ected. This could especially affect doctors who are close to a tier. A lot of people are finding expenses rising for rooms and secretaries as a result of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) inquiry. ‘But a lot of doctors have earned more, so should check they are paying the right amount, as it is harder to make corrections after the event.’ The MDU said the GMC recently highlighted that doctors were required to hold adequate indemnity and failure to do so could mean sanctions. In association with
Doctors’ indemnity could be affected if they did more work than they had told their defence body about or worked in a different field or location. An MDU spokeswoman said it was therefore important for doctors to keep their defence body updated about their current working circumstances to ensure they were adequately indemnified. Equally, a doctor might find they were doing less or cutting out some types of work. Unless they reported this, they could find they paid more than they needed. She added: ‘Even if gross income is not falling, a consultant may be able to save on their MDU subscription, as we allow private practitioners to deduct allowable expenses of up to 50% from their gross practice income to determine their net income – one of the factors on which indemnity subscriptions are based. ‘The MDU recognises it can be tricky for private practitioners to estimate their income and expenses in advance and that it may take some time for this information to be confirmed by their accountant. ‘As a result, we allow members to make adjustments to their current and immediate past member-
ship year’s income and expenses details without the need for a written application form, so long as they can declare no incidents have arisen from this work.’ She said the MDU could consider a written request for a retrospective change if a member realised they had substantially underdeclared their working activity for many years. The MDDUS said subscriptions were based partly on work done and partly on fees earned. Renewal notices showed the earnings level the subscription was based on and it was doctors’ responsibility to ensure this covered expected earnings for the year ahead, it said. Change should be notified immediately to enable a revised subscription to be calculated. Doctors could adjust things at the end of the year if their estimate proved to be too high or too low. A spokesman said: ‘We would like to be clear that the figure used should be your gross private earnings from the practice of medicine, however delivered. In the event that you have formed a company for accounting or other purposes, the relevant figure is the gross income to that company in relation to your practice of medicine.’
The MDDUS said a few doctors were declaring their company salary as opposed to the gross fees. Here it had discretion to make retrospective adjustments. If it found members had paid too little, it would examine individual circumstances to establish why. ‘In the very infrequent cases where members have either deliberately or recklessly avoided proper declaration of their income, we may limit or withhold the benefits of MDDUS membership, or bring membership to an end.’ MPS said it would refund up to one year’s subscription overpayment if a member made contact about a grade change and this resulted in a lower subscription. The refund could be credited to any outstanding subscription for the current year or refunded where their subscription was fully paid. A spokesman added: ‘Our subscriptions reflect members’ risk profiles and income earned from private practice is used as an indicator of their practice and their risk profile. Members are able to deduct legitimate practice exp enses from their gross income up to a limit of 25%. ‘Other medical defence bodies and insurers may allow different percentages to be deducted, but the key figure for private practitioners to consider is the actual subscription charged for their area of practice.’ n See page 4