NMC to ban promotion of medical devices, companies during live surgeries: Chairman Dr Abhijat Sheth
National Medical Commission
New Delhi: Aiming to make regulations for live surgery procedures clearer and more practical, India is planning to ban the promotion and marketing of medical devices and companies during educational live surgeries, said the National Medical Commission Chairman (NMC) Dr Abhijat Sheth, Mint has reported.
Under the current guidelines for livestreaming surgeries, which were established following a Supreme Court directive, live broadcasts should not be used to promote the operating surgeon, hospital, or product brand. Surgeons should not have a financial or commercial interest in the equipment or devices used during the surgery/procedures.
However, certain ambiguities in the guidelines have created confusion among medical professionals. In this regard, Dr Sheth said in an interview, said, "We are working to amend the draft to make it more practical and acceptable to stakeholders."
"The previous draft's 'pan-India procedure' rule created ambiguity- a procedure considered new in Delhi may not be new in Mumbai or southern India. We are addressing these confusing issues, particularly the definition of 'new procedures,' the role of the faculty and the administration," he added, as reported by Live Mint.
Under the NMC norms, live broadcasts for new procedures are allowed. However, the norms specify that the recording should be preferred for established procedures or high-risk cases.
Dr Sheth said that NMC will soon include a provision to prohibit the promotion, marketing, or medical devices and pharmaceutical products and companies during live surgeries. He said, "Our goal is to fix these gaps and make the guidelines clearer and more effective."
Live Broadcast of Surgeries, even though, it is a potential education tool for surgeons and students, has always been mired in controversies and has raised concerns about its effectiveness vis-à-vis pre-recorded videos. The Apex Medical Commission has also flagged live broadcasts in private hospitals for the possibility of exploiting patients for commercial gain, prioritising advertising and self-promotion over patient safety. Due to these concerns, it is required to take prior permission from regulatory bodies such as the NMC and the State Medical Councils for any live surgery.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that back in 2023, a Delhi-based Ophthalmologist had moved the Supreme Court, highlighting the legal and ethical issues posed by live surgery broadcast. Back then, a top court bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had issued notices to the Central Government, NMC, and others.
During the case proceedings, the counsel for the petitioners, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, raised several concerns regarding live surgery demonstrations. He also highlighted the fact that these surgeries are conducted with an audience of up to 800 individuals in medical conferences, and this audience actively participates in the process by asking questions to the surgeon while the procedure is ongoing.
After the plea was filed before the top court bench, NMC put the question 'Should the surgeries be broadcast live?' before the various stakeholders in healthcare and the public.
Placing the issue before the public domain, NMC had invited comments from all stakeholders and the general public, seeking their opinion on the live surgery broadcasts conducted by the private hospitals.
In response to the plea filed before the Supreme Court, the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC) earlier this year issued guidelines to regulate the conduct and broadcast of Live surgeries.
