Ludhiana, December 2
No person other than a doctor having qualifications recognised by the Medical Council of India and registered with the MCI and the State Medical Councils is allowed to practice modern system of medicine or surgery. A person obtaining qualifications in any other system of medicine is not allowed to practice modern system of medicine in any form. This is one of the major regulations passed by the Medical Council of India in connection with the professional conduct, etiquette and ethics of a qualified registered medical practitioner.
Dr Livtar Singh Chawla, former Vice-Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences and member of the postgraduate committee of the MCI, told this reporter here today that the ethical committee of the MCI met on November 28 at Delhi and adopted procedures for punishing defaulting doctors.
Dr Chawla explained that a person qualified in a particular system of medicine could practice only in which he was qualified. ‘If an ayurvedic cannot practice modern system of medicine, similarly a qualified MBBS could not practice ayurvedic or homoeopathic system of medicine ‘, he added. The MCI has observed that a physician should expose without fear or favour incompetent or corrupt, dishonest or unethical conduct on the part of members of the profession.
The MCI has also taken exception to the practice of ‘no cure no payment’ and has warned: “It is unethical to enter into a contract of ‘no cure no payment.”
The MCI has also ridiculed the practice of giving rebates and cuts to the referring doctors: ‘A physician shall not give, solicit or receive nor shall he offer to give solicit or receive any gift, gratuity, commission or bonus in consideration of or return for the referring, recommending or procuring of any patient for medical, surgical or other treatment. A physician shall not directly or indirectly participate in the party to act of division, transference, assignment, subordination, rebating, splitting or refunding of any fee. The physician shall not aid or abet torture, nor shall he be a party to either infliction of mental or physical trauma or concealment of torture inflicted by some other person or agency in clear violation of human rights.’
The MCI has further warned abuse of professional position by committing adultery or improper conduct with a patient or by maintaining an improper association with a patient. This will render a physician liable for disciplinary action as provided under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, or the concerned state Medical Council Act.
The MCI has described as unethical the practice of giving advertisements or seeking glorification by physicians. The MCI has ruled: “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 of advertisement 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 self-aggrandisement’. Printing of self photograph, or any such material of publicity in the letter head or on signboard of the consulting room or any such clinical establishment shall be regarded as acts of self-advertisement and unethical conduct on the part of the physician. However, printing of sketches, diagrams, picture of human system shall not be treated as unethical.
On the question of sex determination tests, the MCI has regulated that on no account sex determination test shall be undertaken with the intent to terminate the life of a female foetus developing in her mother’s
womb, unless there are absolute indications for termination of pregnancy as specified in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. Any act of termination of pregnancy of normal female foetus amounting to female foeticide shall be regarded as professional misconduct on the part of the physician leading to criminal proceedings as per provisions of this Act .
Dr Chawla said that the complaints against the doctors would be looked into by the state medical councils and the MCI would not interfere in the same. He revealed that the MCI had already received more than 300 complaints from various parts of the country against doctors and the same would be referred to the respective states.
Dr Raman Aggarwal, vice-president, IMA, Punjab unit, told this reporter that the state medical council was reconstituted during the fag-end of the tenure of SAD-BJP government which had been challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the petition was still pending there. He explained that the Badal Government had set up an 11-member council and nominated all the members of the council. Under the act, five members can be nominated and six are elected. The Punjab State Medical Council was earlier constituted in 1980 for two years and there was no council in existence till the formation of the council by Badal Government in October 2001.
