Pelezoto Pius Kikhi
Kirha Village, Dimapur
What is Patient rights? Patients’ rights emerged from human rights, constitutional rights, civil rights, consumer rights, codes of ethics of medical and nursing profession. The codes of ethics of medical and nursing profession defines the duties of the doctors and nurses towards the patient. These duties form the basis of patients’ rights. Similarly, the constitution of India gives certain rights on its citizen, e.g.: Right to Life, Rights against exploitation. All these comprises the rights of a patient legally as a citizen of India.
Everyone one of us must have visited a hospital at least once as a patient seeking treatment or as a visitor/ attendant of a patient. What was your experience all together from your entry till the exit in the hospital?Earlier,medical professionhas been held with reverence and was considered a noble profession, butat present,it has been commercialized to such an extent that it has been associated with a number of malpractices and negligence over the years. In today’s scenario, healthcare is no more considered as a noble service, but availed like any other consumer services. You pay money and expect to be provided the best care. This may have occurred with the growth of consumerism or increasing awareness of the consumers/patients, resulting in the comfort zone of many healthcare professionals been stretched and the accountability of care and service provided under scrutiny through media, internet information’s, Consumer Protection Act and many more likely to creep up in the coming years of advancement. Unless the public is aware of its rights and makes an individual effort to know their rights, the health care services anywhere else will take its own time to provide a good quality service for the patients.
The medical profession has been brought under Consumer Protection Act, 1986 section 2(1)(o) only after a landmark case in 1995 through the Supreme Court decision in “Indian Medical Association vsVP Shantha”. The following categories of doctors/ hospitals have been included under this section:
1. All medical/dental practitioners doing independent medical/dental practice unless rendering only free service.
2. Private hospitals charging all patients.
3. All hospitals having free as well as paying patients and all the paying and free category patients receiving treatment in such hospitals.
4. Medical/dental practitioners and hospitals paid by an insurance firm for the treatment of a client or an employment for that of an employee.
How safe is the health care services? As per CDC (Center for Disease Control & Prevention, a leading national public health institute of the United States): On any given day, about 1 in 25 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection.As per WHO (Jul 21, 2011): “Your chances of dying due to an error in hospital is 1 in 300 whereas, the risk of dying from a plane crash is 1 in 10 million passengers. The chance of a hospital erroris about 1 in 10 in most hospitals around the world and 5,000 deaths directly related to healthcare-acquired infections in England each year”.
To protect patient from medication/ prescription errors, the Medical Council (MCI) of India published in the Gazette of India on 08.10.2016 (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002,Clause – 1.5 is substituted in terms of Notification as under -“Every physician should prescribe drugs with generic names legibly and preferably in capital letters and he/she shall ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs”. This was reinforced again by MCI through letter No.MCI-211(2) (Gen)/2017-Ethics/104728, dated 21/04/2017, with suitable disciplinary action by the concerned State Medical Council/ MCI, against any doctor found violating clause 1.5 of Ethics Regulations.
Some important cases to reflect upon by the patient or consumers of health care services are:
• Wrong Diagnosis: The patient was initially diagnosed as having Tuberculosis and treatment was given. However later on the basis of other symptoms it was found that he had Jaundice. Allegation that the hospital and attending doctors were negligent in their treatment and diagnosis. Complaint was held to be maintainable. (1993 Consumer Claims Journal 198).
• Unqualified Nurse: Wrong administration of injection caused paralysis of leg of a child and the nurse who administered the injection was not qualified. Opposite parties directed to pay compensation and treatment expenses. (1999 CCJ 960) Kerala.
• Foreign body left inside after operation of leg which was removed by another doctor. Opposite parties directed to pay Rs. 20,000/- as compensation. (1999 CCJ 99) National Commission.
• May 26, 1995: The case of Indian actressSridevi's mother, who was operated on the wrong side of the brain at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, New York USA.
• In Florida, February 1995: surgeon mistakenly removed the wrong leg of his patient, 52-year-old Willie King, during an amputation procedure.
This article intention is not to encourage the patients to question the hospital’s treatment but to make them aware of their rights. Just like a customer should know that while buying any productthey should be provided safe/ uncontaminated product with the correct quality, quantity, purityso as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices; similarly, a patient should know that he/she deserves quality treatment and safe environment free from exploitation and malpractices during their visit to the hospital.
