Is knowledge of medicolegal issues concordant with heightened risk among doctors?

Spurred by the wave of consumerism, patients do not hesitate to drag the doctor to the court. It has now become essential for doctors to educate themselves on the laws relevant to medical practice. This study addresses some of the issues. Doctors in private practice, belonging to different specialities, were given a self administered questionnaire which was then analysed by the percentage of responses to each question. Only 3% of the respondents faced medicolegal problems at the time of the study. All of them were fighting charges of negligence from their patients. Most (97%) did not keep records of patients seen in outpatient services, 63% used consent forms written in English only and 78% took blanket consent forms for procedures; 97% were not aware of any laws protecting them in their practice. This study highlights the gross ignorance of medicolegal issues among doctors and the need for compulsory certificate courses for them and changes in the curriculum for the postgraduates with respect to this important aspect of medical profession.