The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken up for consideration the healthcare sector's long-standing demand to frame guidelines for determining medical negligence cases, a reply to an RTI query revealed. Though there is no guideline at present, the matter is under consideration, the ministry said in response to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on behalf of PTI. "So far, no guidelines have been framed. It is under consideration," said Sunil Kumar Gupta, undersecretary in the ministry's medical education policy section. Gupta, who is also the central public information officer, gave a written response to PTI when asked to provide information on "if the Union Health Ministry has framed any guidelines to handle cases of medical negligence in the country".

It has been more than 17 years since the Supreme Court, for the first time in the Jacob Mathew case in 2005, directed the Centre to frame statutory rules in consultation with the-then medical education regulator Medical Council of India (MCI) to deal with medical negligence cases as it impacts both doctors and patients. While patients have to run from pillar to post to get justice against erring doctors, frivolous allegations and malicious proceedings cause harassment to medical practitioners. According to legal and medical experts, a proper statutory framework will not only protect the interests of patients but also check cases of violence against doctors. As a stopgap arrangement, the apex court had framed certain guidelines, according to which the investigating officer should, before proceeding against a doctor accused of a rash or negligent act or omission, obtain an independent and competent medical opinion.