siliconindia | | December 20189Healthcare in India features a universal healthcare care system run by the constituent states and territories. Law is an obligation on the part of society imposed by the competent authority, and noncompliance may lead to punishment in the form of monetary fine or impris-onment or both. The earliest known code of laws called the code of Hammurabi governed the various aspects of health practices including the fees payable to physician for satisfactory services. The modern version of Hippo-cratic Oath (called the declaration of Geneva), devised by the WHO after the Second World War and is accepted by international medical fraternity. The first legal recogni-tion and registration for the Indian systems of medicine came when the Bombay Medical Practitioner' Act was passed in 1938. Laws governing the commissioning of hospital are the laws to ensure that the hospital facilities are created after due process of registration, the facil-ities created are safe for the public using them, have at least the minimum essential infrastructure for the type and volume of workload anticipated and are subject to periodic inspections to ensure compliance. Compliance and License Requirements for Healthcare Companies in IndiaThe Ministry of Health and Family Welfare acts as a watchdog for regulating the healthcare industry in In-dia. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) renders technical advice on all Medi-cal and Public Health matters and is involved in the implementation of various Health ser-vices. The Pharmaceutical Industry is one of the areas which come under the ambit of healthcare compliances and is extensively regulated by the following: · Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) · National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) · Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) · Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Laws Governing the Commissioning of Hos-pitals, these are the laws to ensure that the hospital facili-ties are created af-ter due process of registration, the facilities created are safe for the public using them, have at least the minimum essential infrastructure for the type and volume of work-load anticipated, and are subject to periodic inspections to ensure compliance. Laws governing to the qualification/practice and con-duct of professionals:Laws Governing to Sale, Storage of Drugs and Safe-Medication: These are laws to control the usage of drugs, chemicals, blood, blood products, prevent misuse of dan-gerous drugs, regulate the sale of drugs through licenses, prevent adulteration of drugs and provide for punitive action against the offenders. Laws Governing Management of Patients: These are the laws for setting standards and norms for conduct of medical professional practice, regulating/ prohibiting performance of certain procedure, prevention of unfair practices and control of public health problems/ epidemic disease. They deals with the management of emergen-cies, medico legal cases and all aspects related there to including dying declaration, and conduct of autopsy and the types of professional negligence.Laws Governing Environmental Safety: These are the laws aimed at protection of environment through pre-vention of air, water, surface, noise pollution and punish-ment of offenders. A hospital administrator should be aware about the licenses that are essentially required and to renew them as and when required. Pe-riodic Reports and Returns as legal commit-ment he should be aware about the reports and returns that are essentially required by different agencies with fixed periodicity. The health legislations are very few as compared to the size and problems in the health care sector. There is a need for having a comprehensive health care act, framed in order to gear the entire health care sector to the objectives laid down in the different policy in India. Most of the common medico legal situations arise out on non-compliance with these rules and regulations. If a hospital or doctor acquaints well with these rules and regulations and follows them sincerely, he/she would be on the right side of the law. Neeraj Lal
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