Consumer Protection Act – Awareness.
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Date
2012-01
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Abstract
Background: With the inclusion of health care services under
Consumer Protection Act, a spurt in litigations arising out of
breach in medical/dental profession is seen. Thus, it becomes
imperative for health professionals today to be aware of such
laws.
Objective: To assess and compare the awareness about Consumer
Protection Act among dentists (dentists in teaching institutions
and dentists in private practice.)
Material and Methods: A questionnaire survey was carried out on
a total of 224 dentists [112 dentists in teaching institutions (DTI)]
from Manipal and Mangalore and 112 dentists in private practice
(DPP) from Udupi and Mangalore, Karnataka, India]. Statistical
Analysis was done using SPSS version 10. Chi- square test was used
to compare between the categorical variables (P<0.05).
Results: A total of 69.6% of DTI and 76.8% of DPP reported to be
aware of Consumer Protection Act but subsequent analysis of
responses did not reveal the same. Awareness (> 75%) about rules
and regulations of Consumer Protection Act was found to be low in
both the dentist group. No difference was seen in awareness based
on gender, degree and type of practice (P>0.05). Significantly
higher percentage of DPP as compared to DTI (90.7% Vs 69.2% ; P<
0.05) were observed to rely upon regular consent.
Conclusion: There is a need to raise the awareness of health
professionals about such laws so that their increased professional
concern and practice conforms to welfare of patients.
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Keywords
Consumer Protection Act, dentist, awareness, consent in daily practice, India
Citation
Sikka M, Anup N, Aradhya S, Peter S, Acharya S. Consumer Protection Act – Awareness. International Journal of Medical and Dental Sciences. 2012 Jan; 1(1): 1-8.