The Medical Council of India (MCI) has taken a serious note of doctors falsely projecting their professional speciality even when they are not specialised in any areas. The council is also viewing seriously the illegal nexus between doctors, diagnostic centres, pharmacy stores and super speciality hospitals to earn commissions against their professional ethics.
“Doctors should abide to their professional ethics and should not cross the limits of their ethical dignity for the sake of earning money through commissions or by falsely projecting themselves as specialists. If found guilty of violating the norms and regulations set by Medical Council of India, the Council will not hesitate to take serious action against the violators,” said a source at MCI.
With growing competition among clinics and super speciality hospitals in Hyderabad, every other day, the managements are publicising hospitals in Television, News papers and hoardings, which is against the medical profession.
According to MCI, the doctors should not indulge in promotional activities. Giving promotional advertisement in Television, hoardings, banners and news papers is against MCI guidelines. In the event of recent illegal nexus brought to light in Delhi, between doctors and diagnostic centres for commission, the MCI has decided to issue notice to all the doctors under complaint and take stringent action against those who have crossed their limits of professional dignity.
Because of the commercial promotion in TVs and newspapers, the healthcare costs have sky rocketed in the country. In addition to this, it is observed that many MBBS doctors of smaller clinics in cities, towns, and even in villages have been subjecting patients to undergo unnecessary medical tests, directing them to go to super speciality hospitals and prescribing costly medicines of a particular brand even for small medical problems. Moreover doctors in the major towns and cities have increased their consultancy fees to 4 to 5 folds adding to overall healthcare costs.
“Earlier the doctor of smaller clinics used to charge Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 as consultancy fees, but now they have increased it to Rs. 200 to Rs. 300. For just a viral fever, I have to shell out Rs. 1500 to Rs. 2000, which included the medicines, tests and consultancy fees. For a common man healthcare costs are too high and unaffordable,” said a patient at a private hospital in Hyderabad.
In view of growing complaints against doctors, the MCI has directed the respective state councils to keep a tap on the illegal nexus between doctors, diagnostic centres and pharmacy stores. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana alone, it is said that doctors get 30 to 50 per cent commission on referrals of medical tests and commission from pharmacy stores. About 5000 doctors in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been found to be projecting themselves as ‘diabetalogists’ even without undergoing any speciality courses for the same. In view of this, the Union health ministry has directed the MCI to take stringent action against violators of medical profession in the country.