MCI lens on foreign trips has city doctors worried
The Medical Council of India’s crackdown on 15 doctors from Indore, who went abroad on holidays sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, has got the city doctors worried.
Doctors are of the opinion that action must be taken only after checking out whether favours were actually taken by the professionals or not.
Presently, doctors have been asked to submit their bank account details and their travel plans to the MCI. A senior surgeon explained, “Foreign trips are also for learning new skills at the hospitals, working with surgeons and adapting new technology. If the government is going to crack down on these aspects then it will become very restrictive.”
Doctors stated that technology is being brought in the form of equipment after surgeons undergo training in those sectors abroad. If they are going to be targeted it will become difficult to opt for newer methods of treatment. A senior member of Telangana Medical Council on condition of anonymity explained, “The MCI must first ensure that the rules set by them are within the limits to be followed. The problem is that we want the best of healthcare facilities but are not willing to take the risks in terms of investments, upgraded training of the doctors and also the doctor’s protection. With this kind of set-ups, restrictions are being created for practice and that will not work in the interest of patients or patient care.”