Standard of Medical Profession
Sukhit Phaosavasdi MD*, Surasak Taneepanichskul MD*, Yuen Tannirandorn MD*, Boonchai Uerpairojkit MD*, Vorapong Phupong MD*, Chumsak Pruksapong MD*, Aurchart Kajanapitak MD*
Affiliation : * Members of Medical Association of Thailand
A 28- year old Thai female, has been treated for infertility for the past 5 years. At last, she was happily
successful and her last normal menstrual period was on March 18, 2003. She was followed up by a private ante
natal clinic for the first 8 months. She completed her pregnancy care at a private hospital. Her expected
delivery date was on December 25, 2003. On January 7, 2004 she went into labor at the hospital. At first, the
labor pain and the fetal movements were good. Four hours after her labor started, her attending doctor came
to visit and gave her an examination. At that time, he told her that the placental function had been failing for
more than 6 hours and this may result in fetal death. An emergency cesarean section was performed. The
newborn was in shock, made very low crying noise and weighed 3,500 gm. The mother requested that her baby
be treated in a newborn intensive care unit. However, as it was not available at that hospital, the newborn was
transferred to the newborn intensive care unit of another hospital. Sadly, it was pronounced death 4 hours
after admission. The mother was refused access to the medical record. She decided to initiate medical litiga-
tion for 10 million baht(1).
The rule of the Medical Council of Thailand regarding the observance of medical ethics BE 2526
(1983), Part III, Clause 1 and 6 states: a medical practitioner must always maintain the highest standard of
medical practice and must always aim to relieve suffering from diseases or disabilities of the patient without
claiming special benefit except a regular physician’s fee. A medical practitioner must not carry out his prac-
tice without regard to the patient’s safety and expenditure(2).
Based on the medical ethics of Thailand, one would believe that the ante natal care, the cesarean
section and the post operative treatment were at the standard level. However, the mother was not satisfied with
the medical care provided. Besides the obvious cost of the 5 years of treatment for infertility prior to preg-
nancy, hospital costs for the delivery and funeral costs, there was, most importantly, the intangible costs. This
cost is the impossibility of another pregnancy and family sorrow in losing the newborn. This may be worth
much more than a mere 10 million baht in litigation.
Keywords : Standard of medical profession
