On the charge of Adultery and 03 sexual instances A doctor was debarred professional practice in USA 2011 but was practicing in NCR.The Delhi High court last week took Suo Moto cognizance of a media report this doctor and  directed Medical Council of India to place before it the mechanism, statuary regime as well as rules and regulations in place to scrutinize and detect such cases.Beside MCI will clear the rule whether a doctor even NRI or Indian debarred from a foreign country can practice in India. IMA has stated without a good character certificate if Doctor NRI or Indian if registered with any other country MCI then can get reregistration here for practice and MCI only with a good character certificate from that country.

            Beside this High court raise alarm that no leniency the court will give to a Doctor on account of Adultery and Improper conduct and all Doctors should be very careful while doing medical examinations or procedures involving  external or intimate examinations  as they are very vulnerable to these charges.       

       Beside an External,an intimate examination gone wrong can cause both the patient as well as the doctor, a lot of embarrassment as well as putting a medical practitioners in a vulnerable situation, legally speaking. The doctors are also vulnerable to be falsely accused and implicated in cases of sexual misconduct with ulterior motive in some cases of intimate examination. Therefore medical practitioners need to exercise extreme degree of restraint befitting their profession and caution so that nobody exploits them without any reason.         

           Medical Council Of India in its regulations relating to the Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics for registered medical practitioners has specified certain acts of commission or omission on the part of a physician which constitute professional misconduct rendering him/her liable for disciplinary action. In Chapter 7- Clause 7.4 under heading of Adultery or Improper Conduct it states that Abuse of professional position by committing adultery or improper conduct with a patient or by maintaining an improper association with a patient will render a Physician liable for disciplinary action as provided under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 or the concerned State Medical Council Act.

                   Unfortunately it does not spell oi...ut any guidelines which if followed may provide immunity in eyes of law and Regulatory Authorities in cases of intimate or external examination. In any case we may follow the following Guidelines pointers on how to perform intimate examinations detailed below to ward of any unwanted, unforeseen ugly situation arising out of this vulnerability of medical professionals.

Before conducting an intimate examination, doctor should:

1.Explain to the patient why an examination is necessary and give the patient an opportunity to ask questions

2.Explain what the examination will involve, in a way the patient can understand, so that the patient has a clear idea of what to expect, including any pain or discomfort.

3.Get the patient’s permission before the examination and record that the patient has given it .

4.Offer the patient a chaperone preferably a female health professional in case of a female.Never examine or do any procedure on the female patient even if she is child or old without consent and in presence of a female attendant/nurse or a doctor

5.Stop the examination if the patient asks a Doctor to do so.

 6.To keep discussion relevant and don’t make unnecessary personal comments.

7.If dealing with a child or young person,you should seek their parent’s consent.

8.Give the patient privacy to undress and dress, and keep them covered as much as possible to maintain their dignity; do not help the patient to remove clothing unless they have asked you to, or you have checked with them that they want you to help.

9.A written consent explaining the reason ,method and the way of examination with alternative method must be explained during medical examinations must be taken for any patients more so if internal intimate examination needed particularly dealing Female and seropositive patients .