MPS policy regarding pharmaceutical physicians
If you are a pharmaceutical physician, membership of MPS entitles you to apply for the following benefits:
- Medicolegal and ethical advice.
- An indemnity in respect of claims of negligence arising from any clinical commitments undertaken outside your pharmaceutical physician work for up to one session per week in general practice.
- Good Samaritan acts .
- Representation at professional and disciplinary hearings or tribunals.
- Advice, representation and indemnity for legal costs incurred in the defence of a criminal prosecution arising from your professional practice.
We do not indemnify you for the direct effects of a drug, new chemical entity or device upon an individual patient or volunteer. In view of this, you should ensure that your employing or contracting company or sponsoring organisation provides you with an indemnity in respect of such claims.
If a claimant should sue you personally, we would provide you with advice and assistance but it would be for the employing pharmaceutical company to respond to the claim.
Furthermore, we do not indemnify you for a pharmaceutical company’s economic or other loss resulting from negligence on your part. You should therefore either ensure that your sponsoring or employing company or organisation indemnifies you or you should purchase other appropriate indemnity.
A pharmaceutical physician may be required to certify summaries of pre-clinical data as fair and accurate. If discrepancies are later found, there is a possibility that criminal or disciplinary proceedings could ensue.
In such circumstances, MPS would be able to provide you with advice, assistance and representation. However, your employing pharmaceutical company or sponsoring organisation should pay any compensation due to patients or volunteers.