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Doctors can refuse treatment to abusive, violent patients: NMC
Such patients should be referred for further treatment elsewhere, the NMC said in its professional conduct regulations
New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC), the country’s medical education regulator, in its professional conduct regulations, has said that doctors can refuse treatment in case of abusive and violent patients or their relatives, but ensure they are not abandoned.
The move is aimed at discouraging violence against doctors.
“In case of abusive, unruly, and violent patients or relatives, the RMP [Registered Medical Practitioner] can document and report the behaviour and refuse to treat the patient,” the NMC said in the regulations relating to professional conduct of RMPs. “Such patients should be referred for further treatment elsewhere.”
The regulations, issued by NMC in a gazette notification on August 2, also bar doctors from endorsing any drug brands, medicine and equipment or advertise them.
RMPs and their families must not receive any gifts, travel facilities, hospitality, cash or monetary grants, consultancy fee or honorariums, or access to entertainment or recreation from pharmaceutical companies or their representatives, commercial healthcare establishments, medical device companies, or corporate hospitals under any pretext, it said.
However, this does not include salaries and benefits that RMPs may receive as employees of these organisations, the regulations added.
Further, the regulations said, RMPs should not be involved in any third-party educational activity like CPD, seminar, workshop, symposia, conference, etc., which involves direct or indirect sponsorships from pharmaceutical companies or the allied health sector.
“RMP individually or as part of an organisation/association shall not give to any person or to any companies or to any products or to software/platforms, whether for compensation or otherwise, any approval, recommendation, endorsement... concerning any drug brand, medicine, nostrum remedy, surgical, or therapeutic article, apparatus or appliance or any commercial product or article with respect of any property, quality or use thereof or any test, demonstration or trial thereof, for use in connection with his name, signature, or photograph in any form or manner of advertising through any mode nor shall he boast of cases, operations, cures or remedies...,” the regulations said.
The regulations added that reasonable estimation of the cost of surgery or treatment should be provided to the patient to enable an informed decision. Consultation fees should be made known to the patient before examination or treatment of the patient.
“RMP can refuse to treat or to continue to treat a patient if the fees, as indicated, are not paid. At the same time this does not apply to doctors in government service or emergencies but the doctor must ensure that the patient is not abandoned,” the regulations said.
It also specified that use of alcohol or other intoxicants during duty or off-duty which can affect professional practice will be considered as misconduct.
For the first time, the term emergency has been defined as “life and limb saving procedure”. Previously, the term was not clearly defined.
