August usually sees the “freedom” theme attached to all product promotions. This Independence Day, however, saw a promotion that was truly unique: a big corporate hospital promised to provide “freedom from urological problems” for Rs. 800.
The package, advertised on a huge hoarding near the Nagarabavi Circle, included a Prostrate Specific Antigen (PSA) test, blood investigation related to urological disturbances and consultation with a urologist.
Dubious offer
According to a doctor who runs a hospital near Vijaynagar, this offer is actually taking people for a ride as all these tests put together may not cost more than Rs. 600. More importantly, the advertisement was in violation of the guidelines of the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Karnataka Medical Council (KMC) that prohibit doctors and medical institutions from advertising.
This ethical code, observed in many countries of the world, is routinely breached by private corporate hospitals. While some advertise procedures on hoardings, others use their patients to gain publicity. Some even distribute pamphlets inserted in newspapers. Very often, the so-called “free camps” conducted by hospitals offer some basic tests free, with people asked to come back for advanced screening, which are charged, of course.
Privacy issues
There are also issues of privacy that hospitals routinely violate. A city hospital gained international publicity by projecting the case of a child whose severe deformities it surgically corrected. There was a huge media build-up before and after the procedure. The case attracted criticism even from medical professionals about how the vulnerability of poor patients is exploited by hospitals to advertise themselves. Their concern about issues of medical ethics and patient privacy went unheeded by the MCI as well as the KMC.
Shashidhar Buggi, director of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, pointed out how some advertisements push the envelope saying that every person aged above 45 should undergo some specific tests. “Such things are misleading as some procedures are mere tests and not a cure for any disease. Some others go to the extent of saying — buy one consultation and get another free. The medical profession cannot be marketed. The day is not far when even surgeries will come with a buy-one-get-one-free offer,” he said caustically.
Online advertisement
H. Paramesh, president of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA), pointed out how even online advertisements by doctors and hospitals have become rampant. “This is to attract health tourism and international patients. I feel this is unethical as our duty is to first attend to patients within the country,” he said.
Expressing concern over such “marketing” practices by hospitals and doctors, PHANA secretary Aravind Gubbi said that medical procedures were not commercial products. The issue will be raised in PHANA's next general body meeting. “Although all medical professionals know the rules and are bound by them, we will make efforts to create more awareness about the rules and penal clauses,” Dr. Paramesh said.
With the regulations not being enforced, hospitals in the State continue to blatantly violate the guidelines. The former KMC president K. Chikkananjappa, who admitted nothing was done to enforce these guidelines, claimed that most hospitals had agreed to follow the norms.
Hollow promises
“Nearly 70 notices were sent to doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and diagnostic centres for advertising themselves. Sixty-five consultants turned up and we explained to them the provisions of the law, that self-aggrandisement with an ulterior motive of attracting patients was against ethics. They all agreed to not advertise themselves but went back and continued with their unethical practices,” he said.
“With no staff to enforce the rules, would it have been possible for us to go and close down the institutions?” asked Dr. Chikkananjappa.
