Need to frame guidelines for advertisements by hospitals
Indian Medical Council Act very clearly forbids a doctor to advertise . It is same about other professional bodies also . Unfortunately hospitals are not under purview of Medical Councils and this creates a very peculiar condition.
Hospitals are seen placing big and sometimes misleading advertisements in media , online platforms and by putting hoardings all over city . They sometimes promote experimental and evolving technologies as the only solution to a medical condition, which starts spreading confusion among lay public .
There is urgent need to treat a doctor and hospital equally as far as code of medical ethics are concerned. There shouldn’t be these biases in regulation.
Big hospitals are putting big money in online promotions. There are many portals, which started as facilitators of online appointment but under facade of PRIME services , have started demanding Rs 300 to Rs 400/ connection . A patient searching for an eye doctor in Kalkaji is shown doctors in Greater Kailash and Shahdara. This cannot be called listing. This is clear cut advertising, which is against ethical practice till now, unless code of conduct is amended and advertising is allowed . Most of the subscribers of these Prime packages of online portals are big corporate hospitals and big practitioners.
There is urgent need to modify rules. Either advertising should be allowed for doctors also or it should be banned for hospitals also . Cuts and commissions by hospitals also should be considered unethical practices. Medical ethics and code of conducts should not become shackles for individual doctors to give advantage to hospitals.
A system of fair play should be brought in whole system.
There should be formulation of clear cut guidelines regarding
1. Online presence . What is ethical and what is unethical
2. Online and telephonic medical consultation
3. Code of conduct of hospitals
Hospitals and doctors can not be treated separately. Ultimately doctors work under hospitals also .
I hope transforming India portal , will take us this issue and there will be a break on misleading and unfair advertising by hospitals.
Appropriate legal balance will be brought to stop hospitals from unethical behaviours and they will also be brought under Medical Code of Conducts.
Appropriate guidelines for online portals will be brought, which are shamelessly marketing medical services and working against basic tenets of medical ethics . There is urgent need to save profession from becoming a commodity otherwise their will be only businessmen running this sector High time that citizen groups intervene. more
Hospitals are seen placing big and sometimes misleading advertisements in media , online platforms and by putting hoardings all over city . They sometimes promote experimental and evolving technologies as the only solution to a medical condition, which starts spreading confusion among lay public .
There is urgent need to treat a doctor and hospital equally as far as code of medical ethics are concerned. There shouldn’t be these biases in regulation.
Big hospitals are putting big money in online promotions. There are many portals, which started as facilitators of online appointment but under facade of PRIME services , have started demanding Rs 300 to Rs 400/ connection . A patient searching for an eye doctor in Kalkaji is shown doctors in Greater Kailash and Shahdara. This cannot be called listing. This is clear cut advertising, which is against ethical practice till now, unless code of conduct is amended and advertising is allowed . Most of the subscribers of these Prime packages of online portals are big corporate hospitals and big practitioners.
There is urgent need to modify rules. Either advertising should be allowed for doctors also or it should be banned for hospitals also . Cuts and commissions by hospitals also should be considered unethical practices. Medical ethics and code of conducts should not become shackles for individual doctors to give advantage to hospitals.
A system of fair play should be brought in whole system.
There should be formulation of clear cut guidelines regarding
1. Online presence . What is ethical and what is unethical
2. Online and telephonic medical consultation
3. Code of conduct of hospitals
Hospitals and doctors can not be treated separately. Ultimately doctors work under hospitals also .
I hope transforming India portal , will take us this issue and there will be a break on misleading and unfair advertising by hospitals.
Appropriate legal balance will be brought to stop hospitals from unethical behaviours and they will also be brought under Medical Code of Conducts.
Appropriate guidelines for online portals will be brought, which are shamelessly marketing medical services and working against basic tenets of medical ethics . There is urgent need to save profession from becoming a commodity otherwise their will be only businessmen running this sector High time that citizen groups intervene. more
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If doctors do not participate in the advertising, they are harassed by the hospital management. The management knows that doctors' license is risk but don't care. There should be provisions in law like Whistleblower Act, where doctors are protected from MBA managers of corporate hospitals. more
Nov 30
It is both unethical & illegal to offer consultation online or over phone or through unqualified & incompetent intermediary, when the doctor has never seen the patient. I agree that hospitals should be brought under the purview but it will not happen since most major hospitals are run by businessmen & politicians, not doctors. There should also be a law governing ads by complementary medicine branches also. There are several ads coming on TV & newsprint about Ayurvedic & Homeopathic medicines being sold online and apparently invented, manufactured and certified by central government institutes like CSIR. I have no idea whether there has been a genuine discovery because I have not come across it. In addition to allopathy & complementary, the latest menace is beauty parlours. I have seen 18 yrs old boys get botanical stem cell transplants for hair growth through some ads in Tirupati and was charged Rs.50,000/-. The therapy is not proven by science and it does not work. In addition, they are quacks who have no idea about possible reactions. more
Nov 30
Hospitals being service oriented and attached to medical colleges in some cases need to come under the purview of the IMC and greater scrutiny should be there so that they are service oriented and do not fool the honest customer who does not know much more
Nov 29
is govt of india really bothered about the voters now that they got the votes/ power ?????? jumle ke sarkar ??? more
Nov 29
It is a fact that hospitals are not under purview of Medical Councils and this creates a very peculiar condition, when Indian Medical Council Act very clearly forbids a doctor to advertise. The Hospitals are going down to any extend to exploit the public by various means. Let there be some guidelines to this effect, before it is too late. more
Nov 29
