Legal Issues in Medical Practice in Malaysia

Abstract

The health regulatory system in Malaysia is solely relying on complaints made by members of the public which mean a legal intervention is required in a case of medical negligence. Based on the number of claims and medical negligence cases reported in Malaysia, legal issues pertaining to medical practice have become a profound concern by medical doctors. Legal issues in medical practice are circulating in various aspects of care which comprise consent, confidentiality, doctor-patient relationship, documentation or record keeping and many others. There will be positive and negative implications congruent with these legal issues in medical practice. One of the negative implications is the medical doctors will unconsciously practice defensive medicine due to fear of impending medical litigation. On the other hand, due to the fear of impending medical litigation, medical doctors will become more aware and concern about the legal issues in medical practice. As a result, they will continuously improve their practice, quality of care which leads them to be more confident in practicing medicine.