Healthy Soch
Doctors must be morally, ethically, and legally correct
New Delhi, February 28, 2018: Informed consent is an integral and crucial part of medical treatment today. It is not only a procedural requirement, but also a legal requirement. Not taking consent is gross negligence. Consent must be taken before starting a treatment or a procedure.
The patient must be well informed, consent needs to be in micro detail, cost needs to be explained and your competence to manage complications needs to be addressed. There is no learning curve in today’s era. Every learning must be under supervision. One cannot be allowed to self-learn on patients.
Addressing the faculty of King George Medical University, Padma Shri Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) and Immediate Past National President Indian Medical Association (IMA), said, “Doctors must not just be scientifically correct but also be morally, ethically, and legally correct. The Montgomery and Bawa Gaba case in the UK have revolutionized the way medical practice needs to continue in India. Patients are educated and need to know all aspects of their treatment including the possibilities of complications and their repercussions. Patients and/or their legal heir need to be informed at every level. We are the custodians of their faith and the same should not be put on trial.”
The lecture was organized by the surgical faculty and was attended and co-addressed by Dr Vinita Das, Acting Vice Chancellor and Dr Abhinav Sonkar, Head of the department of surgery.
Adding further, Dr Aggarwal, who is also the Vice President of CMAAO, said, “Difference of opinion and errors of judgments are not negligence. If two experts differ, it becomes a case of difference of opinion. Experts therefore should stop giving their decisive expert opinion on a case. My mantra is: Whatever you think and do, you document; and whatever you document you preserve as per legal requirement.”
The patient should be informed of every possible complication that may occur during this treatment, however rare they might be; even a complication rate as low as 0.1% might be 100% for that particular patient. No surgery can be called as a ‘minor’ surgery.
It is the inability to manage complications that leads to violence. As doctors we SERVE our patients and the community and provide
- Service which we have professionally trained for, which is
- Excellent i.e. anticipated
- Responsible, give our 100% to the patients and take responsibility
- Value – Group; each member of the group knows the duties of another, so no gap in service may result
- Enthusiasm: A positive happy atmosphere
