Despite the controversy surrounding medical negligence litigation in rich countries such as the United States, there is scant coverage of this issue in emerging nations. Furthermore, developing countries have 80% of the world’s population. But in comparative health law literature, they are frequently an afterthought. The Comparative collections feature either a small number of emerging nations or a large number of developing countries.
Developing countries appear to be strangers. The research into them might be much more challenging. And, perhaps most crucially, they are frequently confronted with many health policy issues that demand their limited attention and resources. Patients from the United States and other Western countries are increasingly residing in or visiting the United Kingdom. Developed nations may use legal and regulatory frameworks differently. Developing countries’ healthcare systems are also frequently disparate. Cash and other out-of-pocket payments are the most common. HIV, AIDS, TB, and malaria are all public health concerns that require public resources to address. And underdeveloped countries face different financial constraints. It includes the power dynamic between doctors and patients, engaging legal counsel, and finding a willing medical expert to testify.
Finally, medical negligence legislation in developing countries is fascinating in and of itself. These jurisdictions face some challenges in maintaining a fair and efficient system for adjudicating medical negligence complaints. One that denies frivolous claims and compensates legitimate claims while holding physicians accountable, discouraging negligence, and uncovering errors. In underdeveloped nations, where physicians often have more professional autonomy from regulators and more deference from judges, these issues are just as essential, if not more so.
Different Worlds
It’s worth pausing to consider how different developing countries might be from the United States and why these distinctions matter. There are issues in developing countries: Poverty, infectious diseases, professional shortages, Health systems that are poor, infrastructure that is deteriorating, etc. These issues are often secondary (if they exist at all) in most developed countries. These distinctions are crucial for patients to have a viable means to resolve their medical complaints.
Poverty
Money is evident, but defining difference between developed and developing countries. The financial constraints limit the amount of money they can spend on health care and infrastructure. Indeed, low-income countries frequently lack the fundamental means “to afford even some of the most effective care.” Poverty may be a Meta factor that underpins many, if not all, of the issues listed below.
Fewer Physicians
Low ratios of healthcare professionals to the general population are common in developing nations, which may lead to reluctance to over-regulate them. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified fifty-seven countries experiencing critical shortages of health care professionals. The possible average number of doctors per thousand people in these nations is 1.1, compared to the United States in which number is 13.2. Naturally, the countries with the lowest ratios are among the poorest in the world. Professionals can use this to dissuade meaningful external regulation or responsibility. Many patients in underdeveloped countries do maybe glad for any care, even if it is inadequate.
Other Health Issues
Another feature separating developing countries is that they also suffer from other health policy goals that can push patients’ rights to a secondary or tertiary issue. Infectious and harmful diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, SARS, swine flu, and others afflict India, China, and many African countries. These countries may understandably devote more time and attention to public health problems than to medical negligence.
