Laws governing professional
misconduct by doctors
The Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 empowers MCI (Medical
Council of India) to make regulations for the professional conduct of doctors. The Indian Medical Council (Professional
Conduct, Etiquette, and Ethics) Regulations, notified by the MCI in 2002
governs the regulation of professional conduct, ethics, and etiquettes for
registered medical professionals.
Inclusive Definition of Professional
Misconduct in the Regulation
The regulation prescribes an inclusive definition of
professional misconduct. It means that the regulation does not contain all the
instances of misconduct. So, different acts of misconduct given in the
regulation are only extensive, not exhaustive.
off late some hospitals are promoting their services under the guise of widely organizing training sessions and camps to unqualified medical practitioners(quacks),which is also professional misconduct and unethical.
Association
with incompetent persons
Enabling an unqualified person to perform an abortion or any
illegal operation without any medical, surgical or psychological indication is
professional misconduct.
Issuing certificates of efficiency in modern medicine to
unqualified or non-medical person constitutes professional misconduct.
i am not elaborating about civil and criminal liability of professional misconduct. only high-lighting the disciplinary action in the purview of state medical councils.
Disciplinary
Action
If a medical practitioner is found guilty of professional
misconduct by appropriate Medical Council, it may award punishment which
includes removal of name from the register of medical practitioner permanently
or for a specified period. Deletion from the register is widely publicised
through the local press as well as publications of different Medical
Associations/Bodies/Societies. During the pendency of the complaint, the
council may restrain the physician from performing the procedure or practice
under scrutiny.
For medical negligence, Prima facie evidence in the form of a
credible opinion given by another competent doctor is needed to support the
charge of rashness or negligence on the part of the accused doctor and file an
FIR against the negligent doctor.[14]
For imposing civil liability, proceedings can be initiated
before an appropriate civil court or consumer forum.
The civil court/consumer court and the criminal court usually
refer cases of alleged medical negligence to the medical council to decide
whether it is an act of negligence or not.
Any complaint with regard to professional misconduct by doctors
can be brought before the appropriate medical council for disciplinary action.
Appropriate medical council for this purpose is State Medical Councils.
CODE OF MEDICAL ETHICS REGULATIONS, 2002
(AMENDED UPTO 8th OCTOBER 2016) )
(Published in Part III, Section 4 of the Gazette of India, dated 6th
April,2002)
MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA
section 7. MISCONDUCT
:
sub section 7.9
Performing or enabling
unqualified person to perform an abortion or any illegal operation for which
there is no medical, surgical or psychological indication.
sub section 7.10
A registered medical
practitioner shall not issue certificates of efficiency in modern medicine to
unqualified or non-medical person.
(Note: The foregoing
does not restrict the proper training and instruction of bonafide students,
midwives, dispensers, surgical attendants, or skilled mechanical and technical
assistants and therapy assistants under the personal supervision of
physicians.)
section 8. PUNISHMENT AND DISCIPLINARY ACTION
sub section 8.1 It must be
clearly understood that the instances of offences and of Professional
misconduct which are given above do not constitute and are not intended to
constitute a complete list of the infamous acts which calls for disciplinary
action, and that by issuing this notice the Medical Council of India and or
State Medical Councils are in no way precluded from considering and dealing
with any other form of professional misconduct on the part of a registered
practitioner. Circumstances may and do arise from time to time in relation to
which there may occur questions of professional misconduct which do not come
within any of these categories. Every care should be taken that the code is not
violated in letter or spirit. In such instances as in all others, the Medical
Council of India and/or State Medical Councils have to consider and decide upon
the facts brought before the Medical Council of India and/or State Medical
Councils.
Draft - National Medical
Commission Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations,
2022- ( its still a draft. not notified yet by NMC) .
Section 11/ C : A
RMP is allowed to do public education through media without soliciting patients
for himself or the institution.
section 43.Power of the
SMC/EMRB. The SMC and EMRB/NMC shall have the same powers as are vested in a
civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 while trying a complaint
against an RMP in respect of the following matters
What if professional misconduct is
established?
The medical council can take following actions if professional
misconduct is established during inquiry:-
1. It may pardon the practitioner.
2. Pleading guilty with an intention to get less
punishment may result in being pardoned or merit a warning.
3. It can order the practitioner to apologize
publicly or to the aggrieved.
4. It may award a compensation to the complainant.
5. It may issue a warning to the practitioner.
6. It may temporarily restrict the doctor from
performing certain procedures or seeing certain types of patients.
7. It may temporarily suspend the license to
practice.
8. It may permanently suspend the license to
practice.
9. It may refer the matter to the police for
inquiry under relevant IPC sections [19]
A person aggrieved by the decision of State Medical Council can
file an appeal to the Medical Council of India within 60 days from the date of
receipt of the order passed by State Medical Council. Further extension may be
granted by the MCI if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by
sufficient cause from filing the appeal within 60 days.
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