Canadian Medical Protective Association

The Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) is a physician-owned medical liability protection association that provides legal assistance, education and advice to member physicians across Canada.

The CMPA was incorporated by Act of Parliament on Feb 27, 1913, and given Royal Assent on May 16, 1913. Membership reached to more than 73,000 physicians in 2008.

Funding

The CMPA derives its revenue from two sources: membership fees and investment income. On behalf of its members, the Association manages the funds entrusted to it and maintains sufficient financial assets to meet its past and current obligations. The reserve fund, currently valued at approximately $2 billion [Duranceau A. The Canadian Medical Protective Association. Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons. Vol. 83, No. 3, March 1998. Available at: [http://www.facs.org/ahp/proliab/0498art.html] ] , is available to provide legal representation to members and compensation for patients injured through negligent medical care. [CMPA Annual Report 2006. Available at: [http://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/cmpapd03/cmpa_docs/english/resource_files/admin_docs/common/annual_reports/2006/pdf/com_annual_report-e.pdf] ]

Provincial governments refund some of the CMPA membership fees back to its physician members. These refunds were agreed to in agreements negotiated between provincial medical associations (individually by province) and provincial departments of health.

Following several years of rising membership fees, more recently those fees have stabilized, and in 2008 they either remained unchanged or have decreased, depending on the region of Canada. ["CMPA fees drop", in The Medical Post, Vol.43, No.27 (September 4, 2007), page 1]

Patient safety

The CMPA’s emphasis is increasingly on physician education and prevention of adverse medical events. In 2006, as a result of some 400 face-to-face educational presentations and symposia, Canadian physicians learned about reducing risks in their clinical practice, with a view to providing safer patient care. [CMPA Annual Report 2006.]

Criticism of CMPA

The CMPA defends those cases it believes are defensible, and settles those it determines indefensible. In 2005, the CMPA settled approximately 30 percent of its cases. [CMPA Annual Report 2006]

In almost any type of lawsuit settlement, the defendant will often require the plaintiff to sign a non-disclosure agreement prior to settlement.Fact|date=March 2008 As such, settlements agreed to by the CMPA are not publicized.

There have been allegations that the CMPA has, at times, been overzealous in its defense of medical malpractice cases where the doctor seemed clearly negligent. [CBC. [http://www.cbc.ca/disclosure/archives/030211_cmpa/cmpa.html Inside the CMPA] . Accessed: 11 March 2007.] This perception may be based, at least in part, on plaintiff misunderstanding of the difference between a poor outcome and actual negligence.

ee also

* Canadian Medical Association

External links

* [http://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/ Canadian Medical Protective Association]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/disclosure/archives/030211_cmpa/cmpa.html Inside the CMPA]
* [http://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/cmpapd03/cmpa_docs/english/resource_files/admin_docs/common/history/pdf/history-e.pdf A History of the Canadian Medical Protective Association]

References