20180125 Shri Ram Gopal Yadav

THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
L’ASSOCIATION MEDICALE MONDIALE, INC
ASOCIACION MEDICA MUNDIAL, INC
Centre International de Bureaux
Immeuble A “Keynes” Website : www.wma.net Postal Address :
13, chemin du Levant Telephone : (33) 4 50 40 75 75 Boîte Postale 63
01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Fax : (33) 4 50 40 59 37 01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Cedex
France E-mail address : wma@wma.net France
Shri Ram Gopal Yadav
Chairman
Parliamentary Standing Committee
on Health and Family Welfare
by e-mail: rs-chfw@sansad.nic.in. 25 January 2018
c/c: Dr. KK Aggarwal, Immediate-Past President
Indian Medical Association
By e-mail:
Honorable Chairman Shri Ram Gopal Yadav,
The World Medical Association is following the current legislative approach to dismantling the
professional self-governance of Indian physicians in the Medical Council of India with great
concern.
Professional self-governance is a tried and tested tool for regulating the profession in a responsible
and effective way and for protecting it from undue influence, such as economic or political
interests. Although not perfect, it appears to be the best way available to guide and support the
patient/physician relationship, the appropriateness of medical education (in its various phases) and
the ethical behaviour of physicians and their institutions.
Professional self-governance compliments and facilitates professional autonomy and clinical
independence. These provide the necessary assurance that individual physicians have the freedom
to exercise their professional judgment in the care and treatment of their patients without undue
influence by outside parties or individuals.
The shift from a democratically elected, autonomously governed body to a politically established
and government directed body – which is what a new medical council would be under this regime –
is counterproductive to furthering the development of the profession in India. We are convinced that
this likewise applies to the effects it will have on patients and public health.
WMA page 2
Of course, there is no guarantee that a self-governed body will always perform perfectly, but there
is absolutely no evidence from anywhere in the world that the regulation of a profession is better
done by government. On the contrary: We usually see physicians being much stricter in enforcing
correct professional behaviour than government officials. Professionals take responsibility for their
actions and their performance as a service to society. Self-governance is a way of ensuring the
participation and engagement of civil society. This provides safety to the general public and
patients, but also recognition, pride and satisfaction to the profession.
India suffers from a strong brain drain, especially of physicians to other countries. Taking away a
part of their professional identity will increase dissatisfaction and frustration, and probably lead to
an even higher attrition rate. Indian physicians are working and are welcomed and looked after in
many places in this world. Making their home country and their communities less attractive would
not be wise.
With all those factors in mind, we support the efforts of our Indian colleagues to stop or
categorically amend this law – for the benefit of Indian physicians and, most importantly, for the
benefit of Indian patients and the population.
Dr Ardis Hoven Dr Otmar Kloiber
Chair of Council Secretary General
on behalf of
Dr Yoshitake Yokokura
WMA President