MCI misleading health ministry or ministry misinforming parliament?

NEW DELHI: There seems to be a communication gap between the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Health ministry. MCI claimed on February 18 they had no jurisdiction on doctors' associations and hence all its decisions against officer bearers of doctors' associations were void. However, just two days later, on February 21, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told Parliament that MCI was taking action against office bearers of the Indian Medical Association for endorsing food products.

While it is true that MCI had initiated action against IMA office bearers in 2010, since then there have been several developments including some IMA office bearers challenging MCI's decision in court, MCI ethics committee upholding the right of Dr K V Babu, who complained against IMA, to be a whistleblower, and the recent MCI decision that it had no jurisdiction over doctors' association. However, from the minister's reply it seems there is little or no communication between the MCI and the ministry as the ministry appears clueless about the developments in the endorsement issue.

Orissa MP, Rudra Madhab Ray had asked a written question in Lok Sabha asking for details of the show cause notice to the IMA for endorsing food products and also asked whether MCI had submitted its report to the MCI Board of Governors regarding action taken. Ray also asked about steps the government proposed to take or had taken to check such unethical endorsement and to penalize the erring officials.

According to a press information bureau statement, Azad in his answer stated that MCI had issued show cause notice to IMA in August 2010 for endorsing the products in violation of the provisions of the Indian Medical Council (Profession Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulation, 2002 and that the MCI Ethics Committee had decided to remove the name of the president and secretary of the IMA from the Indian Medical Register for a period of six months and to issue a censure letter to all the executive committee members of the IMA to not to repeat such practices in future. IMA was informed of the ethics committee decision in November 2010.

Azad further stated that MCI had informed the ministry that another complaint dated filed by Dr. Babu in December 2012 was considered by the Ethics Committee and then by the MCI Board of Governors (BoG). The BoG returned the minutes to Ethics Committee with some observation, he added.

"Government on receipt of complaints, asks MCI to take action against such unethical endorsements and penalize the erring doctors as per provision contained in clause 6.8.1(h) of MCI's "Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 amended time to time," said Azad in his reply.

"Is it just a gap in communication or is the health minister deliberately misleading Parliament? How can the MCI function without keeping the health ministry in the loop," asked Dr Babu, the complainant against IMA.