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LETTER TO EDITOR
Scope of consumer
protection act in medical
profession in India
Sir,
The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) is a comprehensive
legislation implemented in the year 1986 in India to
promote and safeguard the concerns of consumers.[1]
Under the act, six different consumer rights, namely right
to choose, right to be heard, right to education of customer,
right to seek redress, right to be informed, and right to
safety, have been included to protect the customers.[1] For
the smooth execution, consumer councils and consumer
courts have been established in the district, state and
central level to settle the consumers’ disputes.[2] The CPA
was enforced in India as people were reluctant to avail the
services of the civil courts owing to the excessive court
fee and a long delay to get a final verdict.[2] CPA has been
formulated to be customer‑friendly, as there is no court
fee payment, the person can plead their own case, and the
decision is taken within 3‑6 months.[1]
The doctor‑patient relationship relies on the mutual trust
and conviction.[3] However, over the years owing to the
commercialization of the health care and the medical
profession, the profession has run out of faith.[3] The law is
not enforced to penalize all health care professionals that
cause injury to the patients; but is concerned only with
negligent acts.[4] The CPA provides a forum to safeguard
the rights of the customers and establishes guidelines for
the speedy redress of their grievances against unethical
medical practices.[1,2]
All service rendered to a patient by a medical practitioner is
covered under the CPA except when the service is provided
free of cost, especially in charitable or governmental
dispensaries and hospitals, and primary health centers.[2] If
a patient or the relations of a patient feel that the suffering
or death of a patient is because of either negligence by the
concerned doctor or the health facility, they can complain
to the Medical Council of India or to the Consumer
Court.[1] The Act covers all the medical practitioners and
does not limit itself to the allopathic system in order to
ensure accountability and keep a check on quackery by
non‑allopathic practitioners.[4] Similar sorts of acts has
even been implemented across the world and has shown
encouraging results in the field of medical care.[5]
Despite the rise in the number of cases that are filed against
medical practitioners since enforcement of the Act, a study
has revealed poor awareness among the medical and dental
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL SCIENCES, VOLUME 11, NUMBER 1, JANUARY-JUNE 2014
professionals.[6] Further, it has been observed that the quality
of medical services offered to the ordinary man has also
improved significantly since implementation of the act.[6]
Thus, there is an immense need to update the understanding
about the Act among all the stakeholders - patient, doctors,
and hospital management.[2‑4]
To conclude, medical professionals should internalize
quality‑assured health standards in their routine
professional duties, to ensure protection of customer rights.
The enforcement of the consumer protection act is a crucial
step in ensuring reforms in doctor‑patient relationship
and to benefit the patient, doctor, and society in general
in years to come.
Saurabh R. Shrivastava, Prateek S. Shrivastava,
Jegadeesh Ramasamy
Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical
College and Research Institute, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, India
Address for correspondence:
Dr. Saurabh R. Shrivastava
3rd Floor, Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya
Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Ammapettai
village, Thiruporur ‑ Guduvancherry Main Road, Sembakkam
Post, Kancheepuram ‑ 603 108, Tamil Nadu, India.
E‑mail: drshrishri2008@gmail.com
REFERENCES
1. Park K. Medicine and social sciences. In: Park K, editor.
Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine. 20th ed.
Jabalpur: Banarsidas Bhanot; 2009. p. 606.
2. Gupta MC, Mahajan BK. Health and law. In: Roy RN,
editors. Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine. 4th ed.
New Delhi: Jaypee publishers; 2013. p. 140‑41.
3. Banerjee A, Sanyal D. Dynamics of doctor‑patient relationship:
A cross‑sectional study on concordance, trust, and patient
enablement. J Fam Commu Med 2012;19:12‑9.
4. Joga Rao SV. Medical negligence liability under the consumer
protection act: A review of judicial perspective. Indian J Urol
2009;25:361‑71.
5. Slabbert MN, Pepper MS. The consumer protection act:
No‑fault liability of health care providers. S Afr Med J
2011;101:800‑1.
6. Singh K, Shetty S, Bhat N, Sharda A, Agrawal A,
Chaudhary H. Awareness of consumer protection act
among doctors in Udaipur city, India. J Dent (Tehran)
2010;7:19‑23.
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DOI:
10.4103/1595-9587.137250
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