Raphael Vassallo
The Medical Council has issued a new set of regulations governing the medical profession, stipulating among others a ban on doctors making public endorsements of health-related products and services, including the indirect advertisement of private clinics on TV and other media.
The new regulations, published as a legal notice this week, aim to “inform the practitioners of the particulars of the professional and ethical standards adopted by the Council”, as well as singling out “certain forms of conduct” deemed inadmissible at law.
A variety of alcohol- and drug-related offences may now entail summary removal from the register of medical practitioners. Doctors caught driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs, or being “drunk and disorderly or incapable of properly looking after oneself”, could lose their warrant. The same goes for medics found guilty of “acts of immorality, indecency or dishonesty” involving the “abuse of a professional relationship”.
Forgery, fraud, embezzlement and “gross or prolonged” neglect of duties will likewise be subject to disciplinary measures.
Strict guidelines are also envisaged for direct or indirect promotion of commercial products. Medical practitioners must desist from publicly endorsing “any particular commercial product or service”, including “health-related services such as nursing homes and private clinics”.
However, the regulations stop short of a ban on endorsement of public hospitals like Mater Dei, which was widely advertised last year with TV commercials featuring public endorsements by well-known members of the medical profession.
In what appears to be crackdown on subliminal medical advertising, the new regulations go into considerable detail regarding the relationship between medical profession and the media.
Doctors are permitted to be involved in publishing; “it shall however be ensured that there is no improper or undue advertising.”
Practitioners who grant interviews to the media must “be careful to ensure that no publicity is given to (their) practice”. Furthermore, medics who participate in public discussions on the media are now legally obliged to pursue a policy of modesty: “the information given shall not in any way remark any unique or outstanding qualities or any greater experience in a particular field.”
With the exception of “providing factual information” related to services offered, direct advertising or canvassing is prohibited. This extends to medical practitioners who “employ or (are) professionally associated with anyone who advertises or canvasses”.
Publicising factual information about a clinic’s services, while permissible under the new regulations, must also “avoid aggressive forms of competitive persuasion, such as those that prevail in commerce and industry.”
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