Health Bulletin 14/August/2023

Here are the top health stories for the day:

How to behave on social media? NMC releases 11 commandments for doctors

Doctors will have to refrain from buying likes, and followers on social media as well as posting patient "success stories", the recent set of guidelines issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC) under the National Medical Commission Registered Medical Practitioner RMP (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2023 have pointed out.

The social media guidelines, issued for the first time for Indian doctors, lay down 11 important points to govern the conduct of doctors on social media.

For more details, check out the link given below:

How To Behave On Social Media? NMC Releases 11 Commandments For Doctors

Using online forums, agents to procure patients can lead to 3 months suspension 

Using online forums or agents for procuring patients will now be considered a violation of the new Code of Medical Ethics laid down by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and will attract a penalty that can go up to three months of suspension of the license to practice.

The new “National Medical Commission Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2023 which have come into force effective 2nd August 2023 prohibit any kind of solicitation of patients by the RMP. Given the internet revolution and the rise of internet platforms as well as social media where doctors can interact with patients, the guidelines have explicitly included in its clause the prohibition of solicitation of patients via online mediums which charge money or take a split consultation fee for referring the patients to doctors.

For more details, check out the link given below:

Attn Doctors: Using Online Forums, Agents To Procure Patients Can Lead To 3 Months Suspension

New NMC regulations bar doctors from receiving gifts, travel facilities from pharma companies 

Reconsidering the role of a 'useless' organ: Potential cancer fighter?

The thymus gland—which produces immune T cells before birth and during childhood— is often regarded as nonfunctional in adults, and it’s sometimes removed during cardiac surgery for easier access to the heart and major blood vessels. New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and published in the New England Journal of Medicine has uncovered evidence that the thymus is in fact critical for adult health generally and for preventing cancer and perhaps autoimmune disease.

To determine whether the thymus provides health benefits to adults, the team evaluated the risk of death, cancer, and autoimmune disease among 1,146 adults who had their thymus removed during surgery and among 1,146 demographically matched patients who underwent similar cardiothoracic surgery without thymectomy. The scientists also measured T cell production and blood levels of immune-related molecules in a subgroup of patients.

Reference: Kameron A. Kooshesh, M.D., Brody H. Foy, D.Phil., David B. Sykes, M.D., Ph.D., Karin Gustafsson, Ph.D., and David T. Scadden, M.D., Health Consequences of Thymus Removal in Adults, New England Journal of Medicine, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2302892