Law > Medical Jurisprudence > Rights of Medical Practitioners
Medical practitioners have duties, at the same time they have constitutional and statutory rights. In this article, we shall discuss constitutional and statutory rights of medical practitioners.
Registered Medical Practitioner:
Under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 and the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, the expression “Registered Medical Practitioner means a medical practitioner who possesses any recognised medical qualification as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956), and who is enrolled on a State Medical Register as defined in clause (k) of that section;
Under Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, the expression “Registered Medical Practitioner means any person,—
- who holds a qualification granted by an authority specified in, or notified under, section 3 of the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916 (7 of 1916) or specified in the Schedules to the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956); or
- who is entitled to be registered as a medical practitioner under any law for the time being in force in any State to which this Act extends relating to the registration of medical practitioners;
Some rights of medical practitioners are as follows:
Right to choose his patients:
Medical practitioner has right to choose his patient but once treatment begins, he cannot refuse. In an emergency, however, he should not refuse to give treatment but should render service to the best of his ability. Having undertaken the care of a patient, he may not neglect him; and unless he has been discharged, he may discontinue his services only after giving adequate notice.
Right to use his titles and qualifications:
He is entitled to use his title (Dr.) and qualifications approved by central and state Medical Councils.
Right to receive and recover fees and expenses:
Irrespective of the patient cured or not he has right to receive reasonable fees for the treatment given by due care and skill. He can charge for medicines given by him. He can charge for conveyance for his home visits. If the lawful charges are not paid by the patient, then he can take recourse of legal proceedings to recover this amount.
Right to get appointed in Hospitals and Institution:
He has right to get appointed in local body, Government, or private hospital and institution. But this appointment depends on the policy of respective organization responsible for such appointment.
Right practice medicine and dispense medicine:
He has right to practice the line of medicine in which he holds the required qualification from his clinic, dispensary, or hospital. He can dispense medicines to patients. It is expected that he prescribes generic names of the medicines.
Medical practitioner should practice the line of medicine in which he holds the required qualification. In Poonam Verma v. Ashwin Patel 1996 (4) SCC case, Pramod Verma, husband of the appellant, Mrs. Poonam Verma fell ill and complained of fever and so, Ashwin Patel, who was an authorized Homeopathic kept him under mediation and gave him some allopathic medicines for viral fever for two days. But even after these medications the condition of Ashwin Patel didn’t improve so Ashwin Patel shifted the medications from viral fever to Typhoid Fever because according to Ashwin Patel these two diseases were prevalent in the locality. But even then the condition of Pramod Verma deteriorated and so Ashwin Patel asked the appellant to shift Pramod Verma to Sanjeevani Maternity and General Nursing Home. Then Pramod Verma was shifted to Hinduja Hospital in an unconscious state where, after four and a half-hour of admission, he died. The Appellant therefore filed a petition before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi. The issue was whether there was a breach of duty of care by Ashwin Patel in the treatment of Pramod Verma and whether this will amount to actionable negligence. The honourable Court found Ashwin Patel guilty for negligence and was made to pay compensation.\
Right to issue medical certificates:
Issuing medical certificates is integral responsibility of medical practitioner. He has right to issue medical certificates required
- by employers, schools, colleges, etc.
- to obtain passport or driving license
- under Factories Act, Vaccination Act, etc.
Sometimes medical practitioner issue false certificate, which is an offence.
Right to Give Evidence:
Under the doctrine of privileged communication, a medical practitioner must keep the reports and communication with patient confidential. If doctor is sued for medical negligence by the patient, then the doctor may disclose information to the Court similarly if a doctor sues patient for non-payment of fees, the patient can disclose information to the Court. If Court orders to produce medical reports containing confidential information, then the doctor can appear as a witness and he is supposed to submit evidence to the Court.
Right to remove organs and tissues from a dead body:
A medical practitioner has a right to remove organs and tissues from a dead body for the purpose of transplantation or inquest. Transplantation is needed when the recipient’s organ has failed or has been damaged due to illness or injury. It is the act of surgical removal of an organ from one person and placing it into another person. Organ transplantation is the life-saving therapy for end-stage organ failure. The most commonly transplanted organs are the kidney, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas and intestines. When using this right, the medical practitioner must obey the legal provisions associated with the removal of organs from a dead body.
Right to perform medical termination of pregnancy:
Abortion or medical termination of pregnancy is a medical procedure to end a pregnancy. It uses medicine or surgery to remove the embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterus. The procedure is done by a licensed health care professional.
There are situations in pregnancy, such that the life of the mother or the life of the child in the womb, is in danger. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 has been enacted mainly with a view to save the life of the mother. Under this Act, the pregnancy of the mother can be terminated
- On medical grounds, like when the physical or mental health of the mother is at risk;
- On humanitarian grounds, like when there is a forced pregnancy because of rape;
- There is a possibility of the birth of a deformed child.
Right to disclose confidential information in exceptional circumstances:
Under the doctrine of privileged communication, a medical practitioner must keep the reports and communication with patient confidential. But in case of special circumstances, public interest he can disclose confidential information.
In Mr. X v. Hospital Z, AIR 1999 SC 495 case, the Appellant was diagnosed as HIV (+) after he attempted to donate blood at the Respondent hospital. This information was disclosed by the Respondent and as a result, the Appellant’s marriage was called off and he was ostracized by his relatives and community. He filed an appeal on the grounds that disclosure of his HIV (+) status by the Respondent-Hospital was violative of medical ethics pertaining to confidentiality and also infringed upon his right to privacy under Article 21. The apex court held that in special circumstances, public interest would override the duty of confidentiality, as where there is an immediate or future health risk to the community or to a specific person.
Right to disclose and report injuries:
He has a right as well as a duty to disclose an report all cases of injuries and burns, where the circumstances suggest the commission of a crime. Similarly, he must report cases of self-infliction of injuries or attempted suicide.
Right to access information:
Subject to laws in force, a medical practitioner can access medical information from state or private institutions.
Right not to be unfairly discriminated:
A medical practitioner has right not to be discriminated on the basis of race, caste, creed, religion, gender, place of birth, place of origin, etc.
Right to have political views:
Without infringing the ethics or the laws, regulations and rules, he can participate in political activities and can take political view or decisions.
Right to refuse to conduct an unlawful bodily search or seizure:
He has a right not to be harassed or arrested or detained for having refusal to conduct an unlawful bodily search or seizure that is unlawful under the law.