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New Indian Express
a day ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Kerala Medical Council imposes penalty on doctor for displaying misleading qualifications
THIRUVANTHAPURAM: For the first time, the Kerala State Medical Council (KSMC- Modern Medicine) has imposed a monetary penalty on a doctor for displaying qualifications that were not approved by the council. The council's registrar issued a notice to a doctor based in Payyannur, directing him to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 for this 'serious offence.' The penalty followed a complaint filed by the Payyannur branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA). An inquiry was subsequently conducted by the KSMC's ethics committee, which recommended action against the doctor. The individual in question holds an MBBS degree, along with a diploma in cardiology and a fellowship in gastrointestinal endoscopy-none of which are recognised by the KSMC. Health experts have welcomed this decision, considering it a landmark ruling that could act as a deterrent for practitioners who mislead the public by displaying unrecognised diplomas and certificates.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Health
- The Hindu
State medical council penalises doctor for advertising unrecognised qualification
The Kerala State Medical Council (Council of Modern Medicine) has imposed a penalty of ₹10,000 on a doctor for practising medicine, by advertising an additional qualification which is unrecognised as a medical qualification, and is not registered with the KSMC . The KSMC ordered Arjun J. Nayanar, a doctor practising in Kannur, to pay the penalty based on a complaint filed against him by the Payyannur branch of the Indian Medical Association, which was scrutinised and found to be true by the Ethics Committee. 'A serious offence' Practising medicine by displaying unrecognised qualifications is a serious offence, the KSMC pointed out. This is perhaps the first time that the KSMC is going a step ahead than censuring and imposing a monetary penalty for ethics violation on a doctor. In its complaint to the Registrar of KSMC, the IMA Payyannur branch secretary had pointed out that Dr. Nayanar had violated provisions 1.4.2 of the Ethics Regulations 2002, which says that physicians should display only recognised medical degrees or such certificates/diplomas/memberships/honours which confer professional knowledge or recognises any exemplary qualification/achievements, as suffix to their names. The complainant produced photographic evidence of the billboard advertising the practice of the said doctor, in which he had cited diplomas such as 'PG Diploma in Cardiology (Non-invasive)' and 'CCCDS (Certificate Course in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, Public Health Foundation of India)' as his additional qualifications. These are capacity building courses aimed to equip primary care physicians with knowledge and skills to manage cardiovascular disease and stroke but are not medical degrees recognised by the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. As these are not medical degrees, these cannot be registered with KSMC and hence cannot be advertised as additional qualifications by practising doctors, it is pointed out. 'Unusually large board' The complainant also argued that the doctor had clearly violated provisions 7.13 of the Ethics Regulations, which states that 'it is improper for a physician to use an unusually large sign board and write on it anything other than his name, qualifications obtained from a university or a statutory body, titles and name of his speciality, registration number, including the name of the State Medical Council under which registered'. The IMA had also pointed out another ethical violation in its complaint. This pertained to a display board in Dr. Nayanar's clinic, which advertised the name of another doctor whose qualifications included 'BDS, Cosmetologist (PGDCC)PMU'. It was pointed out in the complaint that the board displayed in the clinic clearly shows that a dental doctor with BDS qualification, is claiming to be a cosmetologist. This was also a clear violation of Ethics Regulations 1.9,which says that a 'physician shall observe the laws of the country in regulating the practice of medicine and shall also not assist others to evade such laws', the complaint said.
