Violation of Medical Ethics: Kerala Medical Council issues censure notice to 11 doctors for advertisements
Thiruvananthapuram: Finding 11 doctors to be violating the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002; the Travancore Cochin Council of Modern Medicine (Kerala Medical Council) has issued censure notices to the erring medical professionals.
There are constant allegations of violations of medical ethics as doctors appear into media advertisements with their photographs. Such advertisements also draw strong backlashes that the corporate organisations using their doctors as a product for sale and the same act has been repeated claimed as unethical in various decisions of the medical councils and associations.
The advertising norm (clause 6.1 of the code of ethics) in Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 clearly states:
Soliciting of patients directly or indirectly, by a physician, by a group of physicians or by institutions or organisations is unethical. A physician shall not make use of him / her (or his / her name) as subject of any form or manner of advertising or publicity through any mode either alone or in conjunction with others which is of such a character as to invite attention to him or to his professional position, skill, qualification, achievements, attainments, specialities, appointments, associations, affiliations or honours and/or of such character as would ordinarily result in his self aggrandizement. A physician shall not give to any person, whether for compensation or otherwise, any approval, recommendation, endorsement, certificate, report or statement with respect of any drug, medicine, nostrum remedy, surgical, or therapeutic article, apparatus or appliance or any commercial product or article with respect of any property, quality or use thereof or any test, demonstration or trial thereof, for use in connection with his name, signature, or photograph in any form or manner of advertising through any mode nor shall he boast of cases, operations, cures or remedies or permit the publication of report thereof through any mode. A medical practitioner is however permitted to make a formal announcement in press regarding the following:
(1) On starting practice.
(2) On change of type of practice.
(3) On changing address.
(4) On temporary absence from duty.
(5) On resumption of another practice.
(6) On succeeding to another practice.
(7) Public declaration of charges.
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