Medical Council Notice to 40 doctors for taking referral patients from QUACKS
Hyderabad: As the crackdown on quacks intensifies due to their increasing prevalence, qualified doctors in the state have now come under the radar of Telangana Medical Council (TSMC) for allegedly accepting patient referrals from quacks. In response, the council has issued notices to 40 such doctors in connection with the matter.
According to the council, these doctors were found encouraging quacks in practice and offering fees to them for referring complicated cases to them. Although it is common now to see quacks operating in rural areas, however, the involvement of doctors in the network is unethical according to the Medical Council of India's Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethical Rules, 2002.
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The network operates in the following manner, when a patient approaches a quack seeking medical treatment, the quack evaluates the patient's condition and, if it is serious, refers them to qualified doctors or hospitals. In some cases, the quacks also refer the patients to diagnostic centres for various tests. This helps the quacks make a quick earning.
The involvement of a diagnostic centre was discovered during a recent raid in Gajwel where the centre was conducting MRI and CT scans based on the prescription of quacks. It has come to light that in many places, qualified doctors feel that it is almost impossible to operate without the assistance of these unqualified practitioners, reports TOI.
Taking action against these qualified practitioners for violating the regulations set forth by the Medical Council of India, the TSMC issued notices to 40 doctors in the state for their association with quacks.
Speaking to TOI, Dr G Srinivas, chairman of the TGMC said, "Many doctors and hospitals in these areas are dependent on quacks for referrals, as people prefer to go to unqualified practitioners and consult qualified doctors only when their health condition worsens."
"We are taking action against qualified doctors who encourage quacks and give referral fees for patients. The quacks refer complicated cases to the doctors and the doctors in turn give percentages to the quacks. This is unethical according to the Medical Council of India's Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethical Rules, 2002. The rules state that a doctor shall not give, solicit or receive any gift, gratuity, commission or bonus as a reward for referring, recommending or procuring a patient for medical, surgical or other treatment," Dr Srinivas added.
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