“AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON RIGHTS OF PATIENTS EMANATING FROM THE CONSTITUTION, HUMAN RIGHTS, CONSUMER RIGHTS, CODE OF MEDICAL AND NURSING PROFESSION : A REVIEW OF JUDICIAL PERSPECTIVE (By-SHIVAM)
Interestingly,
in India the patients’ rights have neither been expresslyenunciated through a
statute nor through judicial decisions. The discussions in thechapters above
and analysis of data collected brings to the light that it is the judicial
decisions mostly from thewestern countries which has concretely put forward a
mechanism to address thegrievance of the patients as these decisions have most
often addressed the complexethical questions concerning the medicine and law.
India lacks a concretemechanism through which patients’ rights can be protected
or guaranteed. Againstthis backdrop, following suggestions has been put forth
so that specific rights ofpatients in India is protected and guaranteed.
Need for
effective legislation to protect patients’ rights
To provide
a patient-centred healthcare it is essential that rights of patient’sare
articulated clearly. In India, we have plethora of laws in the area of
healthcarebut, as these laws lack organization and clarity, it creates
confusion in the mind ofboth patients and healthcare providers. Moreover, in
our country we neither havelegislation nor any patient’s rights charter which
specifically enumerates the rightsand responsibilities of patients. Thus strong
and speedy steps must be taken in order to provide an effective legislation to
protect patients’ rights.
Need for
evolution from Doctor –centric to Patient-centric Care
Laws and
their enforcement no doubt play an important role in protectingrights of
patients but these alone are not enough. What is necessary is to reinvent
therelationship between doctor and patient.
In other
words, there must be a shift from doctor-centric care to patient-centric care.
Creating trust, respect and emotionalcomfort should be an important focus of
the physician’s responsibility and this willgo a long way towards enhancing the
quality of healthcare services. This can bedone by the physician by giving
emphasis on three important elements:transparency,
confidentiality, defining limits.