In recent times, patients’ rights are being recognised by Nigerian statutory and policy frameworks. However, there has been little done for the enforcement of these rights, due to weak complaint systems, and ineffective redress mechanisms. In case of redress in medical matters, time is of crucial essence, and the heavy backlog of cases in the court system exacerbates the process of getting redress for patients. These have contributed to the lack of accountability on the part of the healthcare providers, and lack of access to justice by patients. The increasing dispute between patient and healthcare providers have necessitated a need to address and explore innovative ways for protecting patients’ rights in Nigeria. This paper discussed the existing gaps in accessibility to justice by patients, the provisions for complaints by patients, and its effectiveness. It also discussed Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) mechanism, and how it's introduction into the Medical Law sector in settling disputes effectively. It also evaluated current provisions for Alternative Dispute Resolution and suggested how ODR can be integrated into the current institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks that are available in Nigeria’s-legal research was conducted using doctrinal analysis of Nigerian statues (FCCPA, NDPA, and NHA), regulatory documents (Patients’ Bill of Rights (PBoR)), policies, and comparative frameworks relevant to examine patients’ rights, dispute resolution, and enforcement mechanisms. The results show that the existing structures for patients’ redress are most often than not, inaccessible for the average Nigerian, slow with extremely limited resources, and are usually unenforceable. The paper concluded that ODR presents an avenue for faster redress procedures, reduced cost of getting redress, and enforceability mechanisms
Akeredolu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.