Awareness Among Healthcare Workers Regarding Medical Laws and Ethics in Tertiary Care Hospital in Himachal Pradesh
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Abstract
Background: There is increased violence and litigations against healthcare workers due to their lack of knowledge about medical law and ethics. There are various laws governing medical profession in India which majority of doctors and nurses are not aware of. Training of healthcare professionals regarding this is required for which we need to know their current understanding of the topic. Aims and Objectives: To assess the knowledge of doctors and nurses regarding medical ethics and medical acts, rules and guidelines so that their trainings can be planned accordingly. Methods: This study was conducted as a survey using Google form for various categories of our hospital staff - faculty doctors, trainee doctors and staff nurses which was shared through their whatsapp groups. The participation was voluntary and anonymous. The questionnaire was regarding the attitude towards medical ethics and knowledge about various laws enacted in India to regulate medical practice. Results: A total of 200 doctors and nurses participated in the survey. Most of our doctors and nurses had good knowledge of medical ethics because of regular trainings regarding quality and NABH guidelines. But many of them lacked knowledge about various medical acts, laws and guidelines. Conclusion: There is a need to train our hospital staff regarding medical laws enacted in the country which can be done through lectures, CME, workshops which will be organized in near future by our hospital. Further multi centric studies are required regarding this topic in the future.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Nanda MS, Singh S, Trivedi H
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