Abstract

Introduction: The number of malpractice suits against doctors is increasing in India. The medical professionals should be knowledgeable and aware of the issues and laws that govern patient care and follow the Code of Medical Ethics as laid down by the Medical Council of India. This is important as it will not only enable the highest professional standards in the practice of medicine but also help avoid legal problems. Materials & Methods: An anonymous self­administered structured questionnaire about knowledge of Medical ethic was devised, tested, & distributed for the cross­sectional survey to resident doctors of Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The study was aimed at assessing the awareness of medical laws and ethics among the resident doctors. Among the one hundred twenty five distributed questionnaires 115 were returned, out of which fifteen questionnaires were incompletely filled and were not included for study, so 100 participants questionnaires were considered for the present study and analysed. Conclusion & Results: The participants were aware of various issues related to medical laws and ethics like informed consent, medical negligence, consumer protection acts, dichotomy, patient autonomy, paternalism etc. & as majority of participants agreed on questions.The participants knew the values of medical laws and ethics in medical profession

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