Govt plans action against unregistered doctors, unethical practices

Srinagar, Jan 16: The Jammu and Kashmir Medical Council is planning to initiate action against unregistered doctors and unethical practices to reinforce professional standards.
Earlier, the JKMC issued notices to the doctors and medical professionals who do not follow the rules and warned them to take action against the erring doctors as deemed.
President of J&K Medical Council, Dr. Saleem Khan said they are working to ensure that patients are rightly treated by registered qualified doctors and end quackery.
“We are also planning to hold drives against the unethical practices and unregistered doctors who have not yet done their registrations,” he said.
Khan stated that any doctor visiting or attending to patients must have mandatory registration with the JKMC; otherwise, they will not be allowed to practice in Jammu and Kashmir.
“All MBBS doctors must have JKMC registration. It is mandatory to apply for JKMC registration as soon as they begin practicing; otherwise, it is against the law,” he said.
Earlier, the JKMC received complaints of negligence against unregistered doctors, but they were unable to take action due to the lack of registration, which further complicated the issue.
The move has come to enhance patient safety and uphold the integrity of medical practice. These measures aim to eliminate unethical practices and curb quackery.
“There is a need to stop unethical practices and quackery wherein unqualified persons trap the over-trusting patients, violate their rights and indulge in unauthorized practices and bring bad name to medical professionalism,” he said.
The JKMC has directed all the registered doctors whether in government or private sector to necessarily mention their registration number issued by J&K Medical Council.
It has encouraged the registered doctors to put the QR Code issued lately on permanent registration certificates, on their prescription pads enabling patients to verify the credentials of the consulting doctor registered with J&K Medical Council.
President of J&K Medical Council said that many private clinics and consultation centres in J&K, including single-practitioner clinics, poly-clinics, infertility centres, others, are allowing unregistered practitioners to operate, violating ethics and rules.
Earlier, it had warned private hospitals, nursing homes, diagnostic centres, clinical laboratories, blood banks in Jammu and Kashmir against the unregistered medical practice and urged compliance to safeguard human lives.