Vaccination program to go ahead after insurer found

[AlaskaDenise]

The federal government's plan to immunise the population against swine flu is under threat because insurers may not cover doctors who administer the injections.

Insurers say inadequate testing and the possibility of spreading infections means there is too high a risk that patients will sue, Fairfax newspapers report.

The government has refused to underwrite doctors' liability for the vaccinations.

Medical groups say the program, due to start as early as mid-September, cannot proceed unless doctors are insured.

Australian Medical Association President Andrew Pesce, said: 'The indemnity issue needs to be sorted out or else the vaccination program won't go ahead.'

'In the environment we're in, someone has to be held accountable for rare vaccine reactions that may occur,' he said.

'If the government decides there is a priority need to roll out the vaccine, then it has a duty to indemnify the doctors who provide it.'

Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced in May an order with vaccine supplier CSL for 21 million doses - enough to protect at least half the population from the flu strain.

Medical defence organisations MDA National Insurance and Avant Mutual Group said they were still considering whether to indemnify members who gave patients the vaccinations, Fairfax reports.

The head of clinical research at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance at the University of Sydney, Robert Booy, said the insurers' arguments were superficial and proper training of clinicians would virtually eliminate infection risk.

http://www.skynews.com.au/national/article.aspx?id=366972

 

[kiwibird]

Vaccination to go ahead after insurer found

Vaccination to go ahead after insurer found

Swine flu vaccine to go ahead
BY BONNY SYMONS-BROWN
29/08/2009 12:00:00 AM
The national roll-out of a swine flu vaccine is back on track after one of Australia's largest medical insurance providers agreed to cover doctors administering the drug.
Insurers reportedly didn't want to indemnify doctors offering swine flu injections because inadequate testing and the possibility of spreading infections meant there was too high a risk that patients would sue.

Commonwealth chief medical officer Professor Jim Bishop anticipated the drug would be ready for surgeries around the country by October.

He said indemnity issues were unlikely to hinder the availability of the swine flu vaccine.

''We don't expect this to be an obstacle to the roll-out of this program,'' Professor Bishop said.

He said discussions with doctors, insurers and general practitioners were going ''extremely well''.

Already MDA National has announced it will cover the vaccine's delivery.

President Julian Rait said the company's main concern had been the use of multi-dose vials, which have led to disease being spread between patients.

''But if we can educate doctors and communicate effectively with our membership [on using the vials], we think that risk can be minimised if not eliminated.

''In this situation where ... there is a need to deploy the vaccine quickly, we agree with the Commonwealth that we have to approach this from a different perspective.''

Mr Rait said it would have been nice if the Government underwrote doctors' liability for the vaccinations but it wasn't a significant worry for MDA National.

''There are already some subsidies to the indemnity insurance industry that the Commonwealth provides,'' he said.

''That plus our own solid capital position meant that we are quite comfortable accepting this risk.''

Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced in May an order with pharmaceutical giant CSL for 21million doses of the vaccine enough to protect at least half the population from the flu strain.

Australian Medical Association president Andrew Pesce said it wasn't fair to give a drug company an incentive to produce a product but not offer anything to the doctors administering it.

''CSL was identified by the Government to put this vaccine out quickly,'' he said.

''So if the Government has found it necessary to do that, it obviously has to complete the equation by indemnifying the providers who provide the vaccine.''

Dr Pesce warned some insurers might find it difficult to cover the administration of the drug before it was approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Clinical trials of the flu vaccine have finished but the results are still being analysed. There are 86 people in intensive care nationwide as a result of swine flu. AAP
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/new...-vaccine-to-go-ahead/1609282.aspx?storypage=0