By Dipo Olowookere
A cleric, Rev Fr Udochukwu Ugorgi, has stressed the need for medical practitioners to be abreast of laws and the ethics of the profession in order to avoid liability suits.
He gave this advice in Lagos on Thursday at the Providers Enrollee Forum webinar organised by SUNU Health Nigeria Limited, a Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO).
The event was themed Medical Ethics and the Delivery of Quality Care and was designed to engage the HMO and all stakeholders on how to provide best practices to clients.
Mr Ugorgi recommended the hospital ethics committee, ethics rounds, patient ethics education, patient and physician bill and grand medical ethics consult to sustain policy and protocol implementation and create a healthy culture in clinical settings.
According to him, today’s patients were becoming more aware of their rights and therefore, more litigation conscious.
“The medical practitioner must be vast, not only in his medical field or speciality but also must be alert to his duties and responsibilities in practice.
“He or she must be conversant with the laws and ethics of the profession to avoid liability suits. Also, the practitioner must be aware of the need for defensive practice and anticipate legal issues before they occur.
“The practitioner should also be prepared to defend himself or herself in a court of law or before a professional disciplinary tribunal. (O.J. Odia & 2015) A.R. George).
“In view of liability suits and their increasing burden, practitioners should realize the importance of liability insurance cover.” (O.J. Odia & A.R. George, 2015),” the religious leader told participants.
On his part, the Managing Director of SUNU Health, Mr Patrick Korie, advocated qualitative healthcare delivery at a cost-effective price.
He said looking at medical ethics and how it impacts one’s care, it might be very important for us to discuss ethics, not only on the side of the medical practitioner but also on the side of those who require care.