As the debate over kickbacks and bribes in the healthcare sector persists, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has started work on a code of conduct for hospitals and nursing homes to deal with the issue. The rules could be ready before the end of the year.
The features of the code, which is intended as self-regulation, were discussed at the 44th national conference of the IMA held in Mumbai at the weekend.
"A code of conduct is important to maintain a healthy patient-doctor relationship. The Medical Council of India has a code of ethics for doctors. Now IMA is drafting a self-regulatory code for hospitals that will deal with aspects like neglect of poor patients, preference for generic drugs, and also preparation of a list of NGOs and philanthropists who can be relied on to help patients," said Dr KK Agarwal, senior national vice-president, IMA.
The code is being drafted by a team of top IMA officials. The association is a representative voluntary organization of allopathy doctors that looks at the interest of doctors and the medical community at large.
Agarwal, a medico-legal expert and also a member of the ethics committee of the Medical Council of India, focused on ethical practices. "Medical practitioners are ethical in their practice only when they execute it with honesty, fairness, objectivity, responsibility and self-regulation," he said. "A doctor must always ask three questions before taking a decision: First is it necessary. Second, will it bring happiness to the patient. Lastly, will it bring happiness to me. If the answer to any one of the questions is 'no', one should not perform the action."
On the specific matter of cuts and commissions that has dominated the recent debate, he said said any nexus with pharma companies or chemists are unethical acts and doctors should never indulge in such acts. "It is also the duty of every doctor to devote some of his or her time to the development of the medical profession as a whole," he reminded his fellow doctors attending the conference.
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