Dr Shaikh Ahmad Shaikh Ismail
Published: 2019-06-14
Total Pages: 595
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Healthcare is one of a few professions that set a code of decorum for its professionals. In yester years the relationship between the doctor and patient was paternalistic but todays scenario has changed. The advancement of medical science and technology has made it extremely important to maintain an accord between medicine and ethics to safe guard against malefaction in the field of medicine and research. The concept of Medical Law and Ethics basically looks into the inherent rights that patients have regarding the privacy of their medical records, doctor-patient confidentiality, the right to obtain emergency treatment and so on. This field essentially sees you juggling between two apparently diverse and widespread fields, where your playground is the various ethical considerations that have to be taken seriously while delving into medical science and the various procedures involved in the same. Medical education any where in the world is governed by various legislations applicable to different nations, regions, culuteres and religions. Medical teaching is incomplete with out creating awareness of these legal responsibilities to the budding doctors. Which is legally depends on the medical terms like bio ethis, eugenics, euthanasia, consensual activity, legal rights, freedom of information, consumer protection, lack of communication, confidentiality, hospital accreditation, truth telling, conflict of interest, referral, fee splitting, treatment of relatives, sexual relationships, substituted judgment, vender relationships, medical futility, legal parties, medical negligence, expert testimony, damages, medical record, privacy law, quality of life (QoL) and reproductive rights. Medical law concerns the responsibilities of medical professionals towards the patient and rights of the patient. The first recorded medical law was the code of Hammurabi, which said; "if a physician make a large incision with the operating knife, and kill him, his hands shall be cut off." When I was talking to a group of present day surgeons about this, the immediate comment was that there would be no body in the hall except the hall boys who would have hands! Thus the need for the medical laws arose due to errors and injustice done to the society purposely or inadvertently. Ignorance of knowledge is not a crime, but negligence is. So over the years, several laws had to be enunciated to protect the society against the harms from the medical profession. Medical ethics is the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to medicine, encompassing history, philosophy, theology, and sociology. The earliest evidence of professional oath is recorded in the 12th-century in the Byzantine manuscript. These may be traced to guidelines for physicians in the Hippocratic Oath, early Christian teachings, Formula Comitis Archiatrorum, Muslim medicine, Jewish thinkers, Roman Catholic scholastic thinkers Catholic moral theology. These intellectual traditions continue in Catholic, Islamic and Jewish medical ethics. The profession is tailored for medical professionals as well as legal officers as it essential involves a blend of both these practices and professions. Moreover, the practice of Medical Law and Ethics essentially goes beyond the aspects of just ensuring lack of negligence during medical procedures and prevention of personal injury to the patients. The practice of Medical Law and Ethics essentially goes beyond the boundaries of these aforementioned aspects of medical ethics and essentially looks into providing advice to medical practitioners as well as medical organizations, helping in the formulation as well as implementation of health policies and medical laws, and even extends into functions such as ensuring proper formulation and implementation of appropriate risk management procedures in order to curb the incidence of unethical processes.
