Is healthcare under consumer law a threat to medical practice, or a necessary tool for patient rights in Nepal?

Nepal's Consumer Protection Act 2018 (CoPrA) classifies healthcare as a 'service'; this has materially altered the legal basis for medical accountability, with patients now treated as consumers, who are able to seek legal remedies for alleged negligence. Although this framework has strengthened patient rights and medical accountability, the threat of litigation can erode the integrity of the physician-patient relationship and compromise healthcare delivery. This article examines the application of consumer law to healthcare in Nepal, centred on the geriatric case of Basanta Gautam v. Om Hospital. There are regional debates on the exemption of medical professionals from consumer litigation. This article builds its analytical insights from recent proceedings in the Supreme Court of India and discusses the need for a tiered legal framework in Nepal to enable the courts to differentiate between genuine negligence and disappointing clinical outcomes.