Title

Study of Medico-Legal Awareness among the Medical Professionals.

Authors

Umesh Kumar Choudhary, Ajit Malani, Vinod Rathod, Biyabani Naushad Husain, Neha Choudhary, Abhilasha Mali

Abstract

Background: Medical service is the noblest service to the mankind. In recent era shifts in patient’s attitude towards the doctor has resulted in making the law an inseparable entity of health care today, being a reflection of increased public awareness and inappropriate practices by the healthcare professionals. Many doctors are apprehensive in dealing with Medicolegal cases, may be because of fear, laws and regulations, attending and answering by the court questions or police etc. Knowledge of Forensic Medicine and laws related to medical practice is also important when medical practitioner have to give evidence as expert witness in court of law. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the doctors of a tertiary health care institute, regarding their awareness and consciousness towards the different medico-legal terms. Material and methods: Study was carried out on the basis of questionnaire developed and a total of 165 doctors were assessed on the basis of their responses. Results & Conclusion: In this study, we found that few doctors had basic knowledge regarding different medicolegal terms. Most of the participating doctors felt need for planning and conducting training programme related to legal medicine.

Keywords

Medical service, Awareness, Medico-legal, Medical ethics.