Introduction
Ethics and laws have a disputed battle of arguments which cannot be concluded at one particular ground. And medical ethics is not an exception to this rule. If in a particular circumstance two options are available, one is ethically correct and one is legally correct, then what is to be chosen? Which option will justify the act? These types of situations are common in the life of the medical practitioner.
A physician charged with ill-conduct may be held guilty or innocent in a court of law. However, along with legal proceedings, disciplinary proceedings may also be initiated against him based on unethical conduct.
What are Medical Ethics?
There is no universal definition of medical ethics. But, its interpretation could mean that moral and not legal obligations that a medical practitioner is supposed to abide by. However, there are a lot of times when some of the standards known as medical ethics have a legal effect too.
Medical Laws are undergoing a massive change because the lawyers and the ethicists have to face different and new issues. Medical laws comprise bits of numerous branches of law such as Criminal laws, Human Rights Law, Tort Law, Contract Law, Family Law, etc.
There have been a lot of legislation and rules pertaining to Medical Laws like Policy of Family Planning, Surrogacy Bill, laws pertaining to abortion and sex determination test, etc.; but the challenge they pose is to follow prima facie the moral obligations by virtue of their profession or the conflict with the law.
The Position of Medical Laws and Ethics in India
At present, The Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 deals with the rules and regulations of the Medical Council of India and the maintenance of Medical Registrar. Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette, and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 show the duties and responsibilities of the registered medical practitioners. These regulations enforce certain standards which we require medical practitioners to follow. If they do not do so, legal action can be taken against them and they can be penalized as well.
Some duties and responsibilities of Medical Practitioner are:
- Maintaining a good medical practice
- Maintenance of medical records
- Highest quality assurance in patient care
- Patience, delicacy, and secrecy
- Unnecessary consultations should be avoided
- Not to conduct sex determination test
- Contravening cosmetics and drugs act is not allowed
- Reporting to call for an emergency, military situations
- There should be informed consent of the patient
- Running a medical shop without the license is not allowed
Landmark Cases
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Kunal Shah vs. Dr. Sukumar Mukherjee, AMRI (Advanced Medicare and Research Institute Ltd.) and Ors.
Petitioner’s wife was suffering from a drug allergy and the doctors were negligent in prescribing the medicines, which further aggravated the condition of the wife, resulting in her untimely death. Supreme Court found the doctors guilty and awarded a compensation of around seven crores to the petitioner for the loss of his wife.
Also Read: Euthanasia
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Kishan Rao vs. Nikhil Super Specialty Hospital and Anr. (2010) 5 SCC 513
Petitioner’s wife was suffering from malaria fever whereas she was treated for typhoid fever. Due to the wrong medication and treatment given by the hospital, her condition worsened leading to her death. The court found the Hospital at fault by applying the principle of “ipsa loquitur” (Latin for “the thing speaks for itself”) and the Petitioner was awarded a compensation of Rs. 2 lakhs.
Analysis between Medical Ethics and Laws
Medical Practitioners are also required to be highly sensitive to the actions they undertake. Actions of even one individual can lead to fatal consequences. One medical practitioner who only follows the law and doesn’t pay heed to the ethics of the profession may lead to corrosion of the profession’s integrity. Hence, it is necessary that we maintain a balance between following the law and upholding professional ethics.
A medical practitioner who deliberately gives wrong information to the patient disrespects the patient’s autonomy and also loses the patient’s trust. This mistrust in one physician may lead to mistrust in the entire profession.
Often it is seen that there is a clash between the principles and cases that may arise wherein it is necessary to infringe one principle to abide by the other. For instance, when a particular treatment is necessary to save the patient’s life and involves risk but he is unconscious and cannot agree to the same, then the clash between the principles is set up.
We leave the debate relating to medical laws and ethics unaddressed because the grounds which the concept of ethics takes into consideration are large. Some of it includes religious beliefs, communitarian ethics, virtue ethics, etc. It will be hard to arrive at a conclusion in ethical debates until we developed a firm theory of human dignity.
Conclusion
All said and done, it can be seen that the realm of medical laws and ethics is a complex concept. This is so because people have different beliefs, notions, and interests attached to their lives. However, it is expected of experts and thinkers that, a better approach acceptable by all may come in force. But till then, we need to be careful of what the practices are around the world.