Medical Services & Consumer Protection in India

The enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was a milestone in the history of socio-economic legislations in India. The Act was passed to create awareness among the people regarding their legal rights as consumers and to protect them against unfair trade practices. The Act was amended in 1991 and 1993 to extend its coverage and scope and to enhance the powers of the redressal machinery. The historic judgement of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (National Commission) in 1992 that medical services also constitute service under the Act, sparked off a country-wide controversy. Finally, the controversy was laid to rest when the Supreme Court (in the Indian Medical Association vs. V P Shantha case) held in 1995 that medical services are covered under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The judgement of the Supreme Court has wide implications for the patients as also for the doctors. This study is related to the investigation of patients' perception of medical services in India. It also examines the implications of the application of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (CPA) to the medical services and its fall out on patient-doctor relationship. Furthermore, the study evaluates the approach of the redressal agencies under the Act in deciding cases relating to deficiency in medical services.