National Medical Commission (NMC) notifies guidelines for the professional conduct of registered doctors of modern medicine. It was notified by the ethics and medical registration board under the country’s apex regulator National Medical Commission (NMC).
Key Points of the National Medical Commission’s New Guidelines
- Doctors have been asked to write prescriptions in legible, capital letters.
- Doctors have been asked to prescribe only generic medicines, except for cases where medicines have a narrow therapeutic index – drugs where a small difference in dosage may lead to adverse outcomes – and other exceptional cases.
- Doctors may refuse treatment to abusive, unruly, or violent patients and relatives.
- Doctors may provide information or make announcements online, but the information should be verifiable and not mislead people.
- The doctors have been asked not to discuss the specifics of the treatment of their patients or post their scans online.
- No doctor can deny birth control measures or abortions due based on religious beliefs.
- The guideline also forbids doctors from “purchasing” likes, followers, or any fees to boost their profile on search algorithms.
- Doctors should not participate in telemedicine platforms that provide ratings, reviews, and promotions of certain doctors by any means.
- The guidelines warn against receiving commissions from pharmacies or diagnostic laboratories or attending conferences sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry.
- Mandatory for doctors to continue learning throughout their active years.
- Doctors should undertake 30 credit points in their relevant fields every five years.
What Are The Issues With Generic Medicines?
- Doctors, drug manufacturers, and the government all agree that there is much to be done when it comes to the quality of generic medicines in the country.
- Only 0.1% medicines are tested for quality checks, manufacturers said it is not possible for the government to test every batch, but following good manufacturing practices to the T can assure quality by design.
- Also, medical stores generally do not stock them because the profit margins are narrow for generics.
- if the generic version is not available then the responsibility of substitution is then shifted to pharmacists. This would promote only the brands that have good profit margins.
About the National Medical Commission (NMC)
- The NMC is a statutory body established in 2019
- The National Medical Commission (NMC) has replaced the Medical Council of India
- MCI was established in 1934 under the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, 1933
- The NMC functions under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.
- It serves as India’s regulatory body for medical education.
National Medical Commission’s Mission and Vision
- Ensure availability of adequate and high quality medical professionals in all parts of the country.
- Promote equitable and universal healthcare that encourages community health perspective and makes services of medical professionals accessible to all the citizens.
- Encourages medical professionals to adopt the latest medical research in their work and to contribute to research.
- Enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services.
- It also has the authority to regulate fees for medical courses and to conduct inspections of medical colleges to ensure that they meet the necessary standards.
Autonomous Boards Under the National Medical Commission
It has four separate autonomous boards for:
- Undergraduate medical education.
- Postgraduate medical education.
- Medical assessment and rating.
- Ethics and medical registration.
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