MEDICINE AND RELIGION AND INFORMED CONSENT

MEDICINE AND RELIGION AND INFORMED CONSENT

In India medicine and religion go hand in hand doctors are next to God since they save lives, with the advent of variety of information available over the internet many patients are now aware about the content of the medicines they consume.

Example many Ayurvedic medicines would contain NUTMEG, or homoeopathic medicine prepared from cuttle fish, numerous examples can be enumerated,

Allopathic medicine contain alcohol in preservative contents. These are very important questions for a physician now a day.

Religion emphasis on HALAL products

Now while a prescription is made it will be necessary for the physician to state whether this will be halal or not halal,

Again going by the route of Medical negligence, in Malay Kumar Ganguly vs. Sukumar Mukherjee 2009 the Supreme Court cited 3 American cases Canterbury vs. Spence 1972;

Cobbs vs. Grant 1972;

And Hamilton vs. Hardy 1976

The apex observes, The Law on medical negligence also has to keep up with the advances in medical science at treatment and diagnostics. Doctors increasingly must engage with patients during treatments especially when the line of treatment is a contested one and hazardous. A significant number of jurisdictions, however, determine the existence the scope of doctor’s duty to inform based on the information a reasonable patient would find material in deciding whether or not to undergo the proposed therapy.

As we observe that same pertains to halal and non halal medicines as balance has to be struck and it will be fair for a physician to mention specifically the possible developments after taking the medicine prescribed by him.

Here HALAL or NON HALAL medicine will Impact the religion of the client which, implies that he may be sent to HELL after Death OR NOT;

Physical example cited in Consumer Protection Act 1986 is as follows: A patient being treated with steroid must be asked to take care against rise of pressure and sugar level in blood, or when patient suffering with arthritis is treated with SULPHASALAZINE, he must be informed about chance of drastic fall of platelets count and the probable consequences thereof .disclosure in cases like these seems to be a must. Negligence is strictly nonfeasance and not malfeasance. The patients are by and large are ignorant about the disease and side or adverse effect of the medicine.

In an English decision in  SIDAWAY vs. BOARD OF GOVERNORS of Bethlehem hospital and Maudsley Hospital 1985, it was observed as follows:

“The decision what degree of disclosure of risks is best calculated to assist a particular patient to make a rational choice as to whether or not to undergo a particular treatment must primarily be a matter of clinical judgement.

An issue whether non-disclosure of a particular risk or cluster of risks in a particular case should be condemned as a breach of the doctor’s duty of care is an issue to be decided primarily on the basis of expert medical evidence. In the event of a conflict of evidence the judge will have to decide whether the responsible body of medical opinion would have approved of non-disclosure in the case before him. a judge might in certain circumstances come to the conclusion that disclosure of the particular risk was so obviously necessary to an informed choice on the part of the patient that no reasonable prudent medical man would fail to make it, even in a case when no expert witness in the relevant medical field condemned the non-disclosure as being in conflict with accepted and responsible medical practice”,

As I observe and concur from the above citation is HALAL MEDICINE DISCLOSURE A RISK

Or vice versa is NON HALAL medicine disclosure a risk, the risk defined here being made according to the religion that it would cost the client an entry to HELL, theologically HELL is considered a bad place to be!

Can any expert medical man give any evidence on this factor, can it be proved that intake of NON HALAL medicine would cause entry to HELL, can we check this implication?

As a physician does it include in my syllabi to cover and have a complete understanding of each religion and cover the food and drug part of Halal and Non Halal foods and drugs.

In my opinion here I would follow the halal protocol for my client simply because I follow a religion which expects me to follow certain rules. As the religious texts show that there is a presence of Good vs. Evil in every aspect of life and justice is evident in every field, I will stick to my religion purely because I trust and believe in it and I follow that “BELIEF COMES BEFORE PRACTICE”

MEDICAL LAWYER AND ETHICS CONSULTANT http://www.healthlibrary.com/helptalks.php?action=list&speaker_id=739