Kerala Health department withdraws circular banning doctors from indulging in social media

The Health department which had issued a circular banning doctors from indulging in social media or starting YouTube channels, has withdrawn the circular after it evoked criticism from the medical fraternity, especially the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association

The circular was issued by the Director of Health Services on March 13, in response to the “several letters from government officials being received on a daily basis at the department, seeking permission to create social media posts or start YouTube/Instagram channel, without violating service rules or any dereliction of official duties.”

In denying permission to doctors and other Health department officials to indulge in social media, the DHS had quoted a government communication which said that giving permission to government officials to create posts on social media or start channels on YouTube/Instagram was likely to lead to the violation of service rules and interfere with official duties.

Moreover, government servants making an additional income out of “channel views” on social media platforms would be a violation of the 1960 conduct rules for government servants and the government had no means of checking it, the communication had said.

However, the circular was withdrawn by the DHS on Thursday, citing administrative reasons, after an enraged medical fraternity claimed that the circular was a violation of the citizens’ Constitutional right to free speech and expression under Article 19 (1)A.

The KGMOA, in a statement, said that at a time when unscientific promotion of alternative medicine and pseudo scientific pronouncements by so-called social media influencers were leading the public astray, it was through the same social media platforms that many doctors and health officials were trying to educate the public and promote public health wisdom.

At a time when technology and social media platforms were being widely used by the Health department itself for promotional campaigns and telemedicine, such “regressive” circulars will only distance science from people, it said.