HOW TO DRAFT A MEDICAL SERVICES AGREEMENT?

Medical services, as the name suggests, are pharmaceutical services provided for the wellness and health of the public at large. Any healthcare related service like neurology, cardiology, family practice, or pediatrics is referred to as a medical service. These services are either provided by medical institutions or by individuals who are professionals in this field. In order to ensure that any medical service provider is performing his duties with utmost diligence and care, a medical services agreement needs to be drafted. A Medical Services Agreement is nothing but a contract between the medical service provider and his employer therefore, these are covered under The Contracts Act, 1872.

 HOW TO DRAFT A MEDICAL SERVICES AGREEMENT?

HOW TO DRAFT A MEDICAL SERVICES AGREEMENT?

Medical services, as the name suggests, are pharmaceutical services provided for the wellness and health of the public at large. Any healthcare related service like neurology, cardiology, family practice, or pediatrics is referred to as a medical service. These services are either provided by medical institutions or by individuals who are professionals in this field. In order to ensure that any medical service provider is performing his duties with utmost diligence and care, a medical services agreement needs to be drafted.

A Medical Services Agreement is nothing but a contract between the medical service provider and his employer therefore, these are covered under The Contracts Act, 1872. This agreement ensures that the employer hired by any medical service provider is well within the clauses mentioned in it. Usually, contracts have certain loopholes and complications which need to be taken care of by drafting an agreement that is customized for a particular purpose. The clauses mentioned in these contracts should be unambiguous and written in such a way that a layman can acknowledge. It is therefore always preferable that these agreements should be written and not oral. Certain key features for drafting a medical services agreement is given below:

a. FORMAT OF THE CONTRACT: The format of the medical services agreement should be personalized as per the requirement. Usually, all contracts have a set format, however, in the case of medical service providers, it is not mandatory to follow a structural standard. Since these agreements are to be read by laymen, they should be written in a brief and clear manner. It should be organized with sections and subsections to provide clarity and information in a decent language.

b. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Another important provision that is required to be mentioned is the role of the service providers, their responsibilities, and the people to whom they owe this duty of care. The employers who are hired to treat the patients are obligated to follow the agreement and fulfill their duties and responsibilities with dedication. Along with the employers the agreement should also mention the substitutes for them in case they fail to do their job successfully or are absent when needed. The substitutes should also follow the responsibilities equally and treat the patients who have been mentioned in the agreement. This section should clearly specify all the tasks and functions of the employers, their hours of work, the nature of care to be provided, etc.

c. CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSE: A confidentiality clause should be added in the medical services agreement as it includes the business information relating to the Health Insurance of the patients. It becomes exceedingly important for the service provider to keep such private information safe and to mention the repercussions for any breach. However, it is not only the service provider who is bound by this clause but the patients too. They cannot leak any information regarding the agreement during or after the term ends. It can lead to legal actions being taken against them for the breach of contract. Thus the confidentiality of the terms and provisions of the contract can never be leaked to an unknown third party.

d. COMPENSATION CLAUSE: The compensation paid to the service providers is either fixed or it depends upon the hours/days of work. This clause should definitely be mentioned in the agreement as it relates to the compensation being paid for providing services. The terms and conditions for the compensation in every situation should be mentioned within this clause very clearly. There are times when door-to-door services are provided. These require a separate compensation to be made. Hence, all these factors should be kept in mind while drafting this clause.

e. TERMINATION CLAUSE: Generally this clause constitutes the term for which the services are provided. However, there can be situations where the tenure of the contract or agreement has not ended yet, either of the parties is willing to terminate the contract. Provisions and regulations regarding such situations must be mentioned under a termination clause. In case there is a breach of contract, it can be stated to the service provider with reasons and the agreement can be terminated thereafter.

There can be several other clauses that can be added to the medical services agreement as per the requirement. The clauses mentioned above are some of the basic and primary ones. Therefore, in order to avoid any mishap in the future, the agreements should be drafted very carefully with focus.

 

BY:-

Ridhika Kapoor