Medical Negligence with Special Reference to Act of Commission and Omission: A Narrative Review
Correspondence Address :
Dr. Devesh Nagpure,
Postgraduate Scholar, Department of Shalyatantra, Mahatma Gandhi Ayurveda College, Hospital and Research Centre, Salod (H), Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha-442001, Maharashtra, India.
E-mail: deveshbmw@gmail.com
A doctor’s failure to uphold the standards of his profession, causing the death of a patient whom the doctor hoped to save, is known as medical negligence. The most embarrassing act one can commit is medical negligence, which usually results in the patient’s death. Legally, medical negligence is a breach of the duty of care leading to harm. Lack of clinical competence can be interpreted as negligence. Indian courts decide cases of medical negligence based on the Bolam test. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, negligence is defined as “conduct, action, or omission, which may be declared as negligence without any argument or proof as it violates the dictates of common prudence”. The three cardinal elements in negligence are duty of care failure, failure to exercise duty of care (Dereliction), and causation of damage to the patient on account of dereliction. References to medical negligence can be found in classical texts such as Manusmriti, Kotilya Arthashastra, Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, and others. To mitigate medical negligence, various measures can be taken, such as improved communication, strengthening training and education, emphasising quality assurance, and legal reforms. The rapid development of medical science and technology has proven to be a powerful tool for doctors to better diagnose and treat patients, but it has also become a tool to exploit people for profit. Accurate information about negligence and its laws is needed as there is not enough data in this regard. To avoid medical negligence, practitioners should show strict adherence to modern surgical ethics, which also include concepts like the importance of informed consent, doctor-doctor relationship, doctor-patient relationship, doctor-state relationship, doctor-attendant relationship, attendant-patient relationship, and patient autonomy.
Act of omission, Bolam test, Clinical competence, Dereliction, Informed consent
DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2024/68733.19396
Date of Submission: Nov 22, 2023
Date of Peer Review: Feb 01, 2024
Date of Acceptance: Mar 01, 2024
Date of Publishing: May 01, 2024
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? No
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. NA
PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: Nov 23, 2023
• Manual Googling: Feb 24, 2024
• iThenticate Software: Feb 28, 2024 (10%)
ETYMOLOGY: Author Origin
EMENDATIONS: 5
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