Drafting Process

The drafting process is completely transparent, online, and collaborative.

The Organizing Committee that is constituted every year is responsible for drafting and updating the SOP. The invitees to this Committee comprise of doctors with interest in legal aspects of medical practice, editors of medical journals, academicians, and nominees of medical societies. It is structured as follows:

  • Convenor/s: The ‘friend, philosopher and guide’ who help in evolving consensus.
  • Reviewers: Suggest changes in the drafts and point out to any new clauses that should be added.
  • Approval Committee: Responsible for making the necessary changes in the drafts after considering comments of all the reviewers and preparing the final SOP after due deliberations. It comprises of doctors who are well-versed with the legal aspects of medical practice.

The process of drafting the SOP is simple and completely online. It is as follows:

  • ‘First Draft SOP’ is circulated to all reviewers
  • Reviewers put their comments / suggestions on each clause of this draft
  • Approval Committee deliberates on comments of reviewers, makes necessary amendments, and finalizes this draft
  • This final draft is now the ‘Second Draft SOP’ and is again circulated to all reviewers
  • The aforesaid procedure is followed for finalizing the subsequent draft till a broad consensus is reached
  • The final draft is published as the ‘SOP on Patients Consent’ for that year

Role of IML

IML is the initiator, facilitator, and organizer of this initiative. IML offers its knowledge and expertise in medical laws to point out the areas of concerns and the legally correct solutions; acts as a coordinator between the reviewers, the drafting committee members, the advisory committee members, and the convener/s; hosts and maintains the SOP on ‘patientsconsent.com’ website; and ensures that this SOP is updated annually.

Role of Medical Societies

The medical society nominates one or more member/s to participate in this exercise on their behalf. They invest their efforts in recording the opinions / suggestions / comments of as many members of their organization as possible to ensure that more and more contentious issues are dealt with in the SOP. There is no financial liability on the participating medical societies.

Role of Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee is not directly involved in drafting and / or updating the SOP but is instrumental in aiding and advising the Organizing Committee, especially on the legal aspects. It comprises of lawyers, law professionals, and other prominent persons associated with the healthcare sector with the requisite expertise in medical laws.