Medical council puts 11,000 doctors in ‘dormant’ mode
Slaps Notices On 78 Medicos for Online Ads
Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com
Chennai:02.06.2019
Nearly 11,000 doctors over 70 years of age have been placed in the “dormant and inaccessible” mode in the state medical registry after they failed to update their credentials before the March 31 deadline.
These doctors will not be eligible to practice medicine until they update the council about their status.
In 2018, Tamil Nadu Medical Council had asked doctors over the age of 70 to update their credentials by January 31 and extended the deadline until the end of March. The move was as a part of efforts to revise the state medical registry, council president Dr K Senthil said.
Of the 1.38 lakh members in the state, more than 15,000 were senior doctors — those aged 70 or older as of June 1, 2018. Some doctors are aged more than 90 and the council does not know if they actively practice.
A notification from the council published in the Tamil Nadu gazette said these doctors must send in their registration certificates, Aadhaar cards and proof of practice as prescribed on the council website.
“For now they are delisted from the active registry and will not be able to practice medicine. Some 300 families have sent death reports. Others have to furnish details to get back into the registry,” he said.
“To make it convenient for the seniors, we have asked them to send the details by post,” Dr Senthil said.
The council has also issued showcause notices to 78 doctors who had advertised themselves online. Online directories, which had earlier listed names of doctors on their web pages, are now entering into contracts so that their names and profiles can be “enhanced” online.
The council says besides violating the code of conduct, which prohibits advertisements, doctors’ consultation fee has gone up by at least ₹300 and patients are forced to pay money for needless procedures and therapy.
A circular dated May 21 from the council asked medical college deans and medical associations to direct doctors registered with it to refrain from online advertisements. It said it is a violation of the Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics Regulations notification clause 6.1.1 of the Medical Council of India to solicit patients for professional gain (except for formal announcement for a short period as exempted in the said clause), the circular said.
“We have sent notices to some doctors and initiate action against them,” Dr Senthil said.
Salem-based gynaecologist prohibited from practice
Chennai:
The Tamil Nadu Medical Council has asked a Salem-based gynaecologist not to practise gynaecology or obstetric medicine until an inquiry into a case filed against her is completed.
In February, a woman under the doctor’s care died following labour in February, a week after the Tamil Nadu Medical Council revoked the doctor’s suspension for “negligence and misconduct” that led to a similar death in 2016. The decision to issue prohibitory orders was taken after the state health department — commissioner of maternal and child health — complaint to the council about the doctor’s negligence.
On February 28, Durga Damodharan was admitted to Arokya Hospital in Salem. She died on March 1. Durga delivered a girl, but she suffered from severe bleeding after labour. The doctors removed her uterus but could not stop the bleeding. Senior health officials who conducted the maternal audit said the hospital did not have facilities to deal with such cases and she did not refer Damodharan to a centre with better facilities on time. On October 10, 2018, the debarred Dr Arivukkarasu for six months for similar reasons. On February 18, while she was four months into the punishment period, the council decided to revoke the suspension based on her appeal. It warned her over displaying her unrecognised degree in her appeal application – a violation of the code of medical ethics, but allowed her to restart practice. “We have told her to stop practicing obstetrics and gynecology until the case against her is investigated,” said council president Dr K Senthil.
Slaps Notices On 78 Medicos for Online Ads
Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com
Chennai:02.06.2019
Nearly 11,000 doctors over 70 years of age have been placed in the “dormant and inaccessible” mode in the state medical registry after they failed to update their credentials before the March 31 deadline.
These doctors will not be eligible to practice medicine until they update the council about their status.
In 2018, Tamil Nadu Medical Council had asked doctors over the age of 70 to update their credentials by January 31 and extended the deadline until the end of March. The move was as a part of efforts to revise the state medical registry, council president Dr K Senthil said.
Of the 1.38 lakh members in the state, more than 15,000 were senior doctors — those aged 70 or older as of June 1, 2018. Some doctors are aged more than 90 and the council does not know if they actively practice.
A notification from the council published in the Tamil Nadu gazette said these doctors must send in their registration certificates, Aadhaar cards and proof of practice as prescribed on the council website.
“For now they are delisted from the active registry and will not be able to practice medicine. Some 300 families have sent death reports. Others have to furnish details to get back into the registry,” he said.
“To make it convenient for the seniors, we have asked them to send the details by post,” Dr Senthil said.
The council has also issued showcause notices to 78 doctors who had advertised themselves online. Online directories, which had earlier listed names of doctors on their web pages, are now entering into contracts so that their names and profiles can be “enhanced” online.
The council says besides violating the code of conduct, which prohibits advertisements, doctors’ consultation fee has gone up by at least ₹300 and patients are forced to pay money for needless procedures and therapy.
A circular dated May 21 from the council asked medical college deans and medical associations to direct doctors registered with it to refrain from online advertisements. It said it is a violation of the Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics Regulations notification clause 6.1.1 of the Medical Council of India to solicit patients for professional gain (except for formal announcement for a short period as exempted in the said clause), the circular said.
“We have sent notices to some doctors and initiate action against them,” Dr Senthil said.
Salem-based gynaecologist prohibited from practice
Chennai:
The Tamil Nadu Medical Council has asked a Salem-based gynaecologist not to practise gynaecology or obstetric medicine until an inquiry into a case filed against her is completed.
In February, a woman under the doctor’s care died following labour in February, a week after the Tamil Nadu Medical Council revoked the doctor’s suspension for “negligence and misconduct” that led to a similar death in 2016. The decision to issue prohibitory orders was taken after the state health department — commissioner of maternal and child health — complaint to the council about the doctor’s negligence.
On February 28, Durga Damodharan was admitted to Arokya Hospital in Salem. She died on March 1. Durga delivered a girl, but she suffered from severe bleeding after labour. The doctors removed her uterus but could not stop the bleeding. Senior health officials who conducted the maternal audit said the hospital did not have facilities to deal with such cases and she did not refer Damodharan to a centre with better facilities on time. On October 10, 2018, the debarred Dr Arivukkarasu for six months for similar reasons. On February 18, while she was four months into the punishment period, the council decided to revoke the suspension based on her appeal. It warned her over displaying her unrecognised degree in her appeal application – a violation of the code of medical ethics, but allowed her to restart practice. “We have told her to stop practicing obstetrics and gynecology until the case against her is investigated,” said council president Dr K Senthil.
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