Tamil Nadu Medical Council president Dr K Senthil has said, that doctors’ consultation fees has hiked up by at least 300 and patients are forced to pay money for unwanted procedures and therapy as medical practitioners pays a premium to have their names on top of the charts in web directories.

These online directories, who used to earlier list doctors on their web pages, are now entering into contracts so that their names and profiles can be boosted online. For example, a doctor in the city was asked to pay 36,000 to get his profile listed prominently. The website charges the doctor 300 when a health seeker uses the call or clicks on book button. The doctor is charged for calls received, missed and appointments booked, irrespective of whether the patient visits or not. When the principal amount is over, the doctors have to recharge it.

To make up for this amount of money, it is found that doctors have increased their fees or initiate unnecessary procedures in their clinics. An orthopaedician might give injections or add a physiotherapy session. The rules says that it is unethical for doctors to advertise themselves or enter into such contracts.

In the last two weeks, the council has found hundreds of doctors listed on web directories with details such as pictures of them, their clinic, address, and qualification with consultation fee.

The council, in a circular dated May 21 and addressed to medical college deans and medical associations have asked all doctors registered with it to refrain from online advertisements as it is a violation of the Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics Regulations notification clause 6.1.1 of the Medical Council of India to solicit patients for professional gain (except for official announcement for a short period as exempted in the said clause).

Also, the council has found that some doctors have listed degrees and qualifications which are not recognized by the Medical Council of India. In few cases, doctors had even presented their association with bodies such as Indian Medical Association, Cardiology Society of India and Association of Physicians of India as their qualification.

In the past, the council had suspended doctors who had displayed unrecognized degrees. According to the council, they will take strict action against such doctors who are misleading patients.