Practical Approaches to Contract Drafting for Nigerian Healthcare Institutions: Minimising Legal Exposure

Healthcare institutions in Nigeria enter into a diverse range of contractual relationships encompassing service agreements with medical suppliers, employment contracts for clinical staff, partnership agreements with health management organisations, and concession arrangements with government health authorities. Inadequate contract drafting in this sector generates significant legal exposure, including malpractice liability, procurement disputes, and regulatory sanctions. This study examines practical approaches to contract drafting that minimise legal exposure for Nigerian healthcare institutions, with empirical focus on teaching hospitals and private health facilities in Abuja and Cross River State. A professional practitioner methodology was adopted, combining review of standardised contract templates used by six selected healthcare institutions with interviews conducted with healthcare administrators, medical lawyers, and National Health Insurance Authority officials. Secondary sources include the National Health Act 2014, NHIA regulatory guidelines, and medical contract law publications from 2019 to 2024. Findings reveal that many healthcare institutions use standard templates without adequate customisation for Nigerian regulatory requirements, resulting in unenforceable force majeure clauses and inadequate indemnification provisions. Clinical service agreements frequently fail to define scope of care obligations with sufficient precision. Recommendations include developing sector-specific model contract templates endorsed by the Nigerian Medical Association, mandatory legal review of all high-value healthcare procurement agreements, and training programmes for healthcare administrators on contract risk identification. This research provides professional guidance for healthcare law and administration practitioners in Nigeria. Keywords: contract drafting, healthcare institutions, legal exposure, clinical agreements, Nigeria.