Hyderabad: Indian Medical Association of Telangana has over 12,000 doctors as members. Now junior doctors are demanding to be included into the association that provides some security against cases of medical negligence. The IMA has a scheme called the Professional Protection and Welfare scheme that is used to pay compensation for medical negligence cases.
Dr. A Bharath Prakash, the State Secretary of IMA, Telangana says, “The scheme is a like an insurance. The doctors enrolled in IMA pay a premium like you would do in an insurance. This is collected and used if an aggrieved party goes to court or the consumer forum seeks compensation. There are different amounts ranging from one lakh to ten lakhs.”
According to law, the doctors are supposed to pay the difference between the amount collected by IMA and the amount ordered by the court.
Due to the rising number of medical negligence cases, doctors enrolled in IMA are demanding the increase of the current ten lakhs limit of the scheme to twenty. Doctors who have completed their M.B.B.S and who are enrolled with the medical council are eligible to join the IMA. A senior official from IMA says, “Doctors believe that the scheme provides security but at the same time, it is good that the doctor also pays from his own pocket or else the aggrieved party would feel as if justice was not served.”
Officials from IMA claim that they do not hold the power in debarring doctors involved in a medical negligence case. Their role is very limited in medical negligence cases.
Legal experts claim that with the rise in medical negligence cases, doctors should be held responsible and penalised so that the rush to attend more patients to make money could come to a stop.
