Regulating the private health care sector: The case of the Indian Consumer Protection Act
Regulating the private health care sector: The case of the Indian Consumer Protection Act
复制标题
DOI：
10.1093/heapol/11.3.265
复制
发表时间：
1996-09-01
影响因子：
3.2
通讯作者：
Bhat, R
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bhat, R
私人医疗服务是印度保健服务的重要组成部分。该部门提供的护理质量是一个关键问题。印度医学理事会和地方医学协会等专业组织在影响私人医疗服务提供者的行为方面仍然无效。最近决定将私人医疗做法纳入1986年《消费者保护法》的管辖范围，这被认为是朝着规范私人医疗部门迈出的重要一步。这项研究调查了私营供应商对这项立法的看法。他们相信《舞弊及非法行为条例》可有效减少医疗失当和疏忽行为，但却会带来不良后果，例如增加医生收费、增加处方药物和诊断次数，以及对紧急护理造成不良影响等。消费者论坛还提出了一些其他关切，重点是缺乏私人执业标准、药品的不确定性和风险、司法系统的有效性以及证明疏忽的责任。《防止贿赂条例》是否真的适用于医疗界？本文认为，虽然这一发展是值得欢迎的一步，但我们需要全面审视各种质量问题。有效执行COPRA需要具备某些条件，其中最重要的是具备标准。除此之外，专业组织的更大的参与是必要的，以确保适当的质量，在私人执业，因为健康和医疗案件是非常不同的，从其他商品和service.The文件讨论了邮寄调查和采访的结果，130个供应商从城市的阿赫梅达巴德，印度。问卷调查的目的是评估供应商对COPRA的各种影响的意见。我们还分析了自1991年以来向古吉拉特邦消费者纠纷和赔偿委员会提交的案件数据。详细讨论了向国家消费者赔偿委员会提交的四个选定案件，以说明影响该法执行的各种问题。
Private medical provision is an important constituent of health care delivery services in India. The quality of care provided by this sector is a critical issue. Professional organizations such as the Medical Council of India and local medical associations have remained ineffective in influencing the behaviour of private providers. The recent decision to bring private medical practice under the Consumer Protection Act (COPRA) 1986 is considered an important step towards regulating the private medical sector. This study surveyed the views of private providers on this legislation. They believe the COPRA will be effective in minimizing malpractice and negligent behaviour, but it does have adverse consequences such as an increase in fees charged by doctors, an increase in the prescription of medicines and diagnostics, an adverse impact on emergency care, etc. The medical associations have also argued that the introduction of COPRA is a step towards expensive, daunting and needless litigation. A number of other concerns have been raised by consumer forums which focus on the lack of standards for private practice, the uncertainty and risks of medicines, the effectiveness of the judiciary system, and the responsibility of proving negligence.How relevant are these concerns? Is the enactment of COPRA really appropriate to the medical sector? The paper argues that while this development is a welcome step, we need to comprehensively look into the various quality concerns. The effective implementation of COPRA presumes certain conditions, the most important being the availability of standards. Besides this, greater involvement of professional organizations is needed to ensure appropriate quality in private practice, since health and medical cases are very different from other goods and services.The paper discusses the results of a mailed survey and interview responses of 130 providers from the city of Ahmedabad, India. The questionnaire study was designed to assess the opinion of providers on various implications of the COPRA. We also analyze the data on cases filed with the Consumer Disputes and Redressal Commission in Gujarat since 1991. Four selected cases filed with the National Commission on Consumers Redressal are discussed in detail to illustrate various issues affecting the implementation of this Act.