Doctors swear by the sacred Hippocratic Oath, to treat the ill to the best of one’s ability, to preserve a patient’s privacy, to teach the secrets of medicine to the next generation, and so on. However, what happens if a doctor engages in unethical practices? Does a patient have any recourse if his or her doctor has not properly discharged their duties? The most important question to begin with is – what are your rights as a patient?
Right to Informed Consent
Informed consent refers to the communication process between a patient and his doctor whereby the patient gives his or her agreement to proceed with a medical treatment or procedure after they have been given adequate and accurate information on it. This information should include an explanation as to how the procedure will be carried out, the benefits and risks involved in carrying out the procedure, as well as any other alternatives available.
Typically for procedures that are classified as low-risk, implied or oral consent may be sufficient. However, for high-risk and invasive procedures, a patient’s consent must be sufficiently recorded. This is especially vital if the patient will not be conscious to give consent at a later stage, for example if the patient will be placed under anaesthesia. In such a scenario, consent must be obtained in advance.
Right to all information
A patient will be entitled to all information pertaining to his or her health condition when requested. This information can include treatment plans, diagnosis reports, possible outcomes of the treatment, as well as its potential side effects that may occur. Unless there are any exceptional circumstances, a doctor must communicate the requested information to the patient in a way that best suits the patients’ needs, for example via a medical summary or report.
Moreover, a doctor cannot simply accede to a patient’s family member’s request to withhold certain information from a patient on the basis that the patient may refuse treatment. For example, if a patient’s loved one is worried that he or she may not want to undergo a certain surgical procedure because of the high risks involved and tells the doctor not to inform the patient of the surgical procedure’s risks, the doctor is not entitled to do so.
Right to confidentiality
Doctor-patient confidentiality is another fundamental right that patients have. A doctor must ensure to the best of his ability that a patient’s medical records are kept safely and securely, and must not place these records at risk of unauthorised access and breach of medical confidentiality.
Apart from information privacy, physical privacy is something that doctors must protect as well. For example when conducting physical medical examinations, this must be carried out in a manner and location which preserves a patient’s privacy.
What should you do if you have suffered medical negligence?
1 – Filing a complaint with the Singapore Medical Council (SMC)
The SMC regulates the professional conduct and ethics of all registered medical practitioners and investigates cases ranging from misconduct allegations, complains of unethical behaviour and even breaches of patient confidentiality.
However, the SMC will only handle complaints that are made against doctors and not other healthcare professionals such as Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Furthermore, the investigation process can take many months to be conducted before a conclusion is made, and may even take more than a year for complicated cases.
2 – Seeking legal advice
The right to informed consent, right to all information and right to confidentiality are just a few major rights that a patient will have. This list is non-exhaustive and there are many other potential rights a patient may be entitled to.
If you are unclear of whether you may have a potential case of medical negligence or need help understanding what are the steps you can take to claim for medical negligence, you may want to reach out to a civil lawyer who will be able to guide you through the various options available in Singapore, such as filing a civil claim.
