Consumer Rights and Credit Protection

This chapter discusses consumer laws that protect—but in practice may hurt—low-income people, involving such matters as debt collection, consumer reporting, and lending. People with low income, people of color, and women face many legal, practical, and structural inequalities in commercial markets. In particular, minimum wage jobs do not lift full-time workers out of poverty, and many low-income people, vulnerable to predatory practices that exploit their financial instability, become trapped by debt. The U.S. Constitution does not specifically address many of these problems. The Equal Protection Clause in part protects against companies that refuse to do business because of a person’s race or gender; the Due Process Clauses provide some protection against companies that deploy judicially-sanctioned procedures to deprive a person of property without notice or an opportunity to raise objections; and the Eighth Amendment bars cruel and unusual punishment—and jailing a person who is too poor to pay a debt, which can include an unpaid court fee, should certainly be seen as cruel and unusual punishment. Congress has enacted various laws to protect consumers from unfair and arbitrary treatment. Attention in this chapter is given to debt collection, consumer reporting, access to credit, and limits on garnishment. In addition, the chapter discusses the fringe economy, including the dangers that payday, auto title, and online lending present, as well as private loans used to finance higher education. The chapter also touches on tax collection by the federal government.

Knowledge, attitude and practice among consumers about adverse drug reaction reporting

Background: Background: Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) reporting by consumers is quite low in India. Assessing knowledge and attitude of consumers regarding ADR reporting and observing practice of ADR reporting among them can help explore probable causes for underreporting of ADRs by consumers.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital using investigator-administered questionnaire and interviewing indoor patients of Surgery, Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Dermatology departments. The questionnaire was prepared to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of consumers about ADR reporting. Data was analysed using mean, standard deviation and percentages.Result: A total of 820 consumers of medicines were included. It was found that 32.2% consumers were not aware that a drug can produce adverse effects. After being explained about adverse drug reactions, 94.6% consumers felt that adverse drug reactions should be reported. However, 98.8% consumers were not aware of Pharmacovigilance Programme of India. After consulting about consumer reporting programme, majority of respondents (96.1%) felt that the direct consumer reporting programme helps reporting of ADRs. Moreover, 93.7% of consumers were willing to use it to report ADRs in future. Consumers preferred the Telephonic method with a Toll free number for ADR reporting followed by informing a health care professional.Conclusion: Poor knowledge and awareness about ADR reporting is the major factor for low to nearly absent ADR reporting by consumers in India.

Knowledge, attitude and perception of suspected adverse drug reactions in consumers: a prospective observational study in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are the main leading causes of hospitalization which leads to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Reporting of ADRs to national databases is necessary. To strengthen this system, consumers apart from health-care professionals have also been empowered to report any ADRs directly to the regulatory agencies. Direct and spontaneous patient or consumer reporting offers various benefits beyond pharmacovigilance (PV). Consumer reporting of ADRs has existed in several countries for decades, but in India, with the inclusion of consumer reporting of ADR, the data on the same is valuable and limited. Hence the present study is taken up. The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge, perceptions and practice of ADR reporting among consumers in KIMS hospital and research center, Bangalore.Methods: The data was collected from Patients attending OPD’s, admitted in wards and at pharmacy in KIMS Hospital and Research Center, Bangalore. It is a cross sectional descriptive study. Study period is for six months from 1st April to 31st September 2018 and sample size is 200. A structured questionnaire in English and Kannada was used as a tool.Results: Of the 200 patients from the surveyed, in males the knowledge scores were better when compared to females and attitude, perception scores were same (statistically not significant). Most of the patients opined for the establishment of consumer pharmacovigilance system at hospitals and local pharmacies.Conclusions: Knowledge about ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance is less in consumers. So that there is a need to increase awareness in consumers.