This is a question posed to many of us lawyers. Well, the answer to this cannot be summed up in a few words. Although, cynics have loosely coined terms like barratry or ambulance chasers the need for lawyers specialising in healthcare sector has become the need of hour in India in this present age.

As it emerges, healthcare law is a growing field of law with huge amount of opportunities in the coming years. The healthcare sector in India is highly regulated and this poses a big challenge on the demand of lawyers to help physicians and healthcare providers to strategise decisions and solutions in thismuch regulated business environment of healthcare.

In India, each state gets to govern and set the laws around which the healthcare sector has to flourish. There is a license required for everything from recruiting staff, possessing the necessary equipment, to selling medicines or opening a chemist within the hospital, treatment of foreign nationals, etc. On the other hand, with the rising public awareness, the government regulations and lawsuits/claims in healthcare industry have seen a significant growth in the recent past.

Now the question comes, as to why should a lawyer be hired to run the business which is primarily run by doctors?

As a healthcare lawyer, you interpret the highly complex healthcare laws which govern the administration of the hospitals and to some extent clinical practice. As a lawyer with this sector the predominant role encompasses on advising hospitals, physicians, medical device manufacturers, health insurance providers, pharmaceutical companies, laboratory and diagnostic companies and all other healthcare providers on all matters effected by healthcare laws including, licensing, governance, risk and compliance management, medical negligence and malpractice litigation,guidelines that govern ethical and professional conduct in medical field, contractual matters, clinical trials, intellectual property, advocacyand general corporate management issues.

In India, physicians and healthcare providers are adopting various technologies aiming at enhanced patient care, improved clinical outcomes and optimisation of scare resources. Online out-patient consultation booking system, hospital information system, electronic health records, telemedicine, epharmacies, health service aggregation, robot assisted surgeries, patient monitoring systems, artificial intelligence etc. are a few early technologies adopted by physicians and healthcare providers. One important aspect in adopting these technologies is handling the patient personal and healthcare data. Healthcare lawyers navigate the laws to ensure compliance relating to implementation of new technology in observance to patient privacy laws.

Healthcare in India is predominantly privatized with almost 75 to 80 percent of hospitals being managed by the private players. This sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15 per cent and will reach around USD 280 billion by 2020. Since, this sector is undergoing a massive transformation.Healthcare sector is augmenting its horizon of its servicesby adopting technology, increasing medical tourism, offering state of the art facilities at par with global standards and newer applications etc.; and has created excellent opportunities for investors. As a lawyer with a healthcare provider, you advise the business teamon healthcare delivery through management services model, raising funds, structuring

Investments, construction, set-up and management of hospitals.You also advise successful doctors with deeper penetration and focus in tier 2 and tier 3 cities who wish to start a hospital in getting incorporated as an LLP or a Company, raising bank debt and encouraging them to consider private equity investments.

From an investing company perspective, investments in healthcare sector carry a myriad of critical issues which an investor need to be aware of and concerned with. Since the healthcare sector is a dauntingly regulated sector in India, a healthcare lawyer helps in conduct¬ing proper due diligence for regulatory approvals and licenses.

Whereas on the practice side, healthcare litigators defend the healthcare providers or healthcare recipients in legal claims and lawsuits relating to medical negligence, medical malpractice etc. As you would know, Healthcare providers are liable under the Consumer Protection Act, law or torts and under criminal laws for medical negligence and medical malpractice claims in cases relating to care and management of patients, use of implants and various medical devices, regulatory non-compliances etc. With the rise in consumer activism it is indeed a necessity for any healthcare business to have a legal professional within the organization to avoid unwarranted litigations and regulatory tussle. With the umpteen number of compliance checks and regulatory compliances a lawyer has to not only ensure that the process is risk free but also need to make sure that the business is not hampered. It is here that we see a dearth amongst the legal professionals who venture out into this specialized field of law unlike developed countries like US, UK and other EU nations.

Summing up, Healthcare law is an incredibly broad field that touches many different aspects of law and there area lot of opportunities in this field of law that a budding law student or a lawyer should leverage. In an age, where med-tech and artificial intelligence are taking overnot just this industry but even our daily mundane tasks,the checks and balances on risks involved have multiplied thus requiring a professional hand in ensuring smooth sail.