Hospitals, nursing homes get new code of ethics

NEW DELHI: A new code of ethics will now govern hospitals, nursing homes and other similar medical establishments, prohibiting any malpractices such as earning cuts, commissions, inflating patients' bills and accepting freebies. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has recently issued the broad guidelines for healthcare providers and asked them to put it on display.

"IMA's Central Council has passed the declaration. We will bring out a detailed guideline explaining the code of ethics as declared. The detailed note will elaborate on what healthcare providers should do and not do," said Dr KK Aggarwal, who took over as IMA secretary general on Sunday.

The detailed note on code of ethics, to be prepared within next three months, will also specify actions against hospitals if there is violation of the code, Dr Aggarwal said.

The present declaration, passed by IMA, highlights that hospitals or other such establishments will not "accept expensive gifts, cash benefits or gratification from the drug and equipment suppliers, diagnostics centres or similar agencies". It also clearly states that unjustified admissions or billing to patients, giving cuts and commissions to anyone for soliciting patients, over-billing in claim cases or improper entries in insurance forms will be considered 'unethical or illegal' as is the case with sheltering any criminal from law and pre-natal sex determination.

The idea is to prepare a basic guideline for regulation of hospitals and other such medical establishments, which currently remains completely unmonitored.

The move comes in the wake of reports of hospitals engaging in unethical practices, mainly giving or accepting cuts or commissions and for unjustified billing among other things.



Though, such code of ethics already exists for individual doctors, who are regulated by Medical Council of India, institutions housing most of these doctors remain outside the Council's purview. While the government recently brought in voluntary code of ethics for pharmaceutical companies, the Clinical Establishment Act planned for healthcare providers such as hospitals still remains in limbo due to reservations from various quarters.

"It is important to have a coordinated regulation to cover the whole supply chain. While doctors and drug makers have code of ethics, not having the same for hospitals will puncture the system," Dr Aggarwal said.

There are around 5000 hospitals registered with the Hospitals Board of India, a wing of IMA looking specifically into hospitals. Besides, IMA is also coordinating with other organisations such as Medical Council of India, Delhi Medical Council, NatHealth Network and Association of Healthcare Providers to implement the code of ethics in medical establishments.