Bihar plans new policy to bar Govt doctors from private practice

Bettiah: Government doctors will no longer be allowed to run private clinics while working in government hospitals, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Friday, citing complaints of doctors being absent from their duties, particularly in rural areas.

To address this, the minister said that a new policy would be introduced to ban private practice by government doctors, to improve patient care in government hospitals across the state.

Addressing a public gathering in Bettiah during the launch of his Samriddhi Yatra, the Chief Minister said the state government is preparing a new policy that will bar government doctors from engaging in private practice. He said the move is intended to ensure that doctors are more available in government hospitals and patients receive timely treatment.

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"The Bihar govt doctors will no longer be able to do private practice. The government is going to bring a new policy for this. This will increase the availability of doctors in the government-run hospitals, and patients will be able to get treatment on time," said the Minister as reported by TOI.

Speaking about the formation of a new policy, Health Secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh told TOI, "The proposal was not entirely new and had been mentioned earlier in the state’s development road map. Saat Nishchay-3 clearly spoke about introducing a policy related to a ban on private practice by govt doctors. The department is working on the formulation of such a policy. Once it is finalised, it will be placed before the competent authority and then sent to the cabinet for approval."

The medical fraternity in Bihar has welcomed the move. However, doctors said that along with the ban, the government should provide fair compensation, like a non-practice allowance, as the ban would restrict their additional income.

Doctors associated with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said a ban on private practice should come with a proper non-practice allowance so that govt doctors are compensated fairly for the loss of additional income.

Former Bihar Health Service Association president Dr Ajay Kumar, who is currently the national convener member of the IMA action committee, said, "Similar decisions had been taken several times in the past but could not be sustained. An earlier instance when doctors were denied non-practice allowance on the basis of a rumour that they were practising privately, even though it was not proved."

He said, "The govt should consult doctors before finalising the policy and take their recommendations on board. We are not sure whether the govt will stick to its decision and hope it does not succumb to political pressure. The govt should initially keep the option open for doctors to decide whether they were willing to opt for the scheme. He added that, as per his assessment, more than 50% of doctors in the teaching cadre and more than 60% of doctors posted in rural areas were likely to agree to such a move. However, doctors serving in rural areas, additional rural compensation and accommodation facilities should also be provided to make the policy workable."

Former state IMA president Dr Rajiv Ranjan Prasad also welcomed the announcement but said it should include proper compensatory measures, including non-practice allowance. He cited earlier examples, including during the tenure of Bindeshwari Dubey as chief minister and health minister, when similar decisions were taken but later rolled back.

Dr Prasad said the govt should simultaneously work on creating a parallel system and support the establishment of private nursing homes, which would help strengthen the overall health infrastructure of the state and reduce pressure on public hospitals.

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