Articles by Sandhya Srinivasan

The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 which is in force in a few states is being sought to be placed before the state legislature in Maharashtra amidst vehement protest from the medical fraternity. This legislation, which the Indian Medical Association claims will lead to doctors being harassed, was born of a long patients' rights movement against abysmal infrastructure conditions and poorly qualifi ed staff in small clinics, hospitals, and diagnostic and pathology laboratories.

A recent civil society-led investigation has highlighted serious ethical violations in a trial of the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine on girls in Khammam district in Andhra Pradesh. The findings are presented along with a review of clinical trials of the hpv vaccine in India and an analysis of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules. Together they illustrate how the promotional practices of drug companies, pressure from powerful international organisations, and the co-option of, and uncritical endorsement by, India's medical associations are influencing the country's public health priorities.

The emergence of healthcare ethics as a discipline in India reflects the growing awareness and concern for ethics in the medical profession, academic institutions and the public. Bioethics, which covers a larger area than medical ethics, was the subject of the first national conference on this subject held late last year in Mumbai. A report on the conference and the spread of this important area of study and concern.