Knowledge and awareness of dental professionals regarding Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) in India- A systematic review.

Background: In recent times, patients have become more aware of their rights, and this has led to significant rise in the compensation cases against doctors. Due to the nature of the work and costs involved in the treatment, dental professionals are at high risk of facing such medical negligence cases. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess knowledge and awareness regarding professional indemnity insurance (PII) among dental professionals in India.

Methodology: A systematic review of relevant cross-sectional observational studies was conducted among dental professionals in India to report their knowledge and awareness regarding PII. Eight studies out of 98 were finally included in the review after conducting both electronic and manual search of scientific databases and making necessary exclusions. Potential biases were addressed and relevant data regarding PII data was extracted by the investigators concerned.

Results: More than 60% of subjects had knowledge regarding PII in one of the study reports. Only 0.5% of subjects had taken PII in one of the studies and merely 8% in the other study. One of the studies mentioned that 76.2% of subjects paid compensation to their patients for negligence during dental treatment. Main hurdles for not opting PII were unawareness and considering PII non-mandatory for dentists. More than 90% of subjects in one study showed interest in buying PII for themselves.

Conclusion: The results of the present review reveal that less than half of the subjects in some studies reported a lack of knowledge regarding PII and very few had taken PII. Therefore, there is an urgent need to make dental professionals aware of the benefits of obtaining PII to safeguard themselves from various litigation issues.