Hospital, Doctors fined for unfair trade practices: Doctors “ be clinically and legally correct so as to save themselves”

Since Hannurabi times  1750BC, medical profession or health care has been regulated. For thousands of years, attempts  have  been made, laws enacted  to regulate or control medical treatments or doctors. It has never been perfect.  In today’s time, where medico-legal issues have become as important as much as treatment, it is strange to find such practices, where transplant was done without valid license. More importantly, it was done in a well known hospital in Delhi and not in unknown location.

Going by the news item,  Jaipur Golden Hospital New Delhi conducted renal transplant without having a valid license for the same in 2006. It could have gone unnoticed, in case  everything had gone well. But  in today’s scenario, no one accepts even small and routine  complications. So doing a procedure like transplant without license  is asking for trouble.

Medical fraternity is clear that there are no treatments without complications.  Even simple procedures can get complicated. Therefore, doing anything which is   legally not correct, can be a blunder.  Consequences of even little mistakes can be disastrous in current environment, which is not very supportive to doctors.  Temptation  for  doing procedures without being legally correct  can be many, like holding  a license previously, or just to maintain a continuity of performing a special surgery. Money generated may  or may not be a great incentive in such circumstances . Reason can be as simple as to continue doing procedure while license is awaited and take  temporary invalidity of licensing requirements lightly.

Legalities should be taken in correct perspective always.  Doctors can save themselves by just following well laid protocols and  legal requirements. This is not right  for doctors   doing  procedures against the law or without legal permissions. Because  no one, including patient will not support the doctor in adverse circumstances.

Doctors  can save themselves by   doing procedures, which are clinically and legally correct.