Doctors cannot feature in hospital ads: Kerala Medical Council issues warning
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Thiruvananthapuram: Taking note of the continued practice by hospital managements to issue advertisements in newspapers in print and social media, carrying the qualifications and photographs of doctors in their service, the Kerala State Medical Council (Council of Modern Medicine) has issued a warning to doctors highlighting that this is a violation of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002.
Apart from the Council has also issued a directive to all the doctors of modern medicine practising in the State that they should legally register their MBBS qualification as well as their other additional qualifications with the Council of Modern Medicine.
According to Section 6.1 of the Code of Ethics, "...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... as to invite attention to him or to his professional position, skill, qualification..."
Referring to these rules, the Council said that it had the power to take action against such violations and issue punitive measures.
Taking cognisance of the issue, back in 2020, the State Medical Council, previously known as Travancore Cochin Council of Modern Medicine) had censured 11 doctors in this regard.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Council had found these 11 doctors guilty of violating the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, by allowing to be featured in a newspaper advertisement by Aster MIMS, Kozhikode. The hospital's ad prominently featured some of its doctors, along with their photographs and details on their specialties. The matter had been brought to the attention of the Registrar of the state medical council seeking "appropriate action" by Dr KV Babu.
The doctor activist had pointed out that while corporate hospitals were free to advertise their facilities and services, they could not advertise their services making use of the photographs and details of the doctors under their employment. Doctors should be aware of these provisions in the Code of Ethics. Following the recommendation of the ethics committee, Kerala Medical Council had issued a censure notice to all 11 doctors and warning them that such a mistake should not happen again.
The Hindu has reported that Dr. Babu informed that the hospital managements continue to advertise their services using the images of doctors. He also mentioned that he had brought this matter to the notice of the Medical Council in July this year.
Council Directs Doctors to Register Additional Qualifications:
Meanwhile, the Council has also noted that many doctors of medicine were practising in Kerala without registering their basic MBBS degree or additional qualifications including MD/MS/DNB/Mch/DrNB.
Displaying unregistered qualifications violates the National Medical Commission Act of 2020 as well as the Kerala State Medical Practitioners' Act of 2021. Additional qualifications which are not recognised by NMC, also cannot be displayed by the doctors.
As per the rules, the doctors in the State should display their State Medical Council Registration Number, registered qualifications and legally attested copy of the registration certificate issued by the Kerala State Medical Council at their place of practice.
Further, the Council also said that the registration number and qualifications registered with the State Medical Council should be used in prescriptions, seals and letter pads. It also clarified that the clinicians have the authority to practice only those specialities and qualifications which they have registered.
The Council also expressed its interest to stress these aspects and highlight this before the public and hospital managements to ensure that there were no quacks or impersonators practising modern medicine in the State.
Therefore, the Council has directed all the medical colleges and hospitals and clinics in the State to verify the original registration certifications of doctors in modern medicine serving in the respective institutes, which are issued by the State Medical Council. It also advised the institutes to keep the attested copies of these certificates.
Apart from this, the Council has also said that the display boards in hospitals/medical colleges and clinics should include the name, qualification and registration number of medical practitioners registered with the State Medical Council.
NMC Action Against Misleading Advertisements:
The Commission had also taken cognizance of the issue of advertisements by corporate hospitals and decided to form a panel to examine the issue. It was decided that the NMC panel would evaluate the nature of advertisements employed by corporate hospitals. It will examine whether there should be specific rules to govern advertisement by corporate hospitals.
NMC took this decision after the Apex Court issued a notice to the commission regarding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Mumbai-based infertility expert Dr. Aniruddha Malpani.
