Rights & privileges enjoyed by a doctor

1. Right to choose a patient. He can refuse to treat without

stating the result. However he cannot refuse the treat
an emergency.
2. Right to use title & description of qualification which he
possess & recognized by medical council.
3. Appointment in public & local hospitals.
4. Right to prescribe & dispense medicine to his patient.
He can also prepare & dispense the medicine to his own
patient.
5. Right to realise fees & other expenses for attending his
patient, irrespective of whether the patient is cured or
not. The fees depends on his qualification & experience.
6. Right to issue medical certificates & medico legal
reports.
7. Right to give evidence in a court of law, as an expert
witness.
8. Right to be exempted from acting as a juror in course
of holding an inquest where this system exists.
9. Removal of an organ from a dead body for
transplantation purpose.
10. Right to perform medical termination of pregnancy.
11. Right to use red cross emblem. Other can use are
medical person of army of a country & red cross
society.
 Duties & responsibilities of a doctor
• Each applicant at the time of making registration
shall sign the copy of declaration and submit a copy.
A. Duties in general:
1. Character of physician:
a. A physician should uphold the dignity and honour
of his profession.
b. Render service to humanity; reward or financial
gain is a subordinate consideration.
c. No person other than registered doctor is allowed
to practice medicine or surgery.
2. Maintaining good medical practice:
a. The physician should try to improve medical
knowledge and skills, and should practice methods
having scientific basis.
b. He should participate in professional meetings, i.e.
CME programmes for at least 30 hours every 5 yrs.
c. For the advancement of his profession, a physician
should affiliate with associations & society of
medical profession.
3. Maintenance of medical records:
a. Physician should maintain the medical records of
his indoor patients for a period of 3 years from the
date of commencement of the treatment.
b. On request for medical records, either by the
patients or legal authorities, the same should be issued
within the period of 72 h.
c. He should maintain a register of medical
certificates issued. He should record the signature
and/or thumb mark, address and at least one
identification mark of the patient and keep a copy of
the certificate.
d. Efforts shall be made to computerise medical records
for quick retrieval.
4. Display of registration number:
a. Physician should display the registration number
prescriptions, certificates, money receipts given to his
patients.
b. Physicians should display as suffix to their names
only recognized medical degrees or such
certificates /diplomas and memberships/honours
which confer professional knowledge.
5. Use of generic names of drugs: Physician should
prescribe drugs with generic names and ensure that
there is a rational prescription and use of drugs.
6. Highest quality assurance in patient care: He should
not employ in connection with his professional
practice any attendant who is not registered or
permit such persons to attend, treat or perform
operations upon patients wherever professional
discretion or skill is required.
7. Exposure of unethical conduct: Physician should
expose, without fear or favour, incompetent or
corrupt, dishonest or unethical conduct on the part
of members of the profession.
8. Payment of professional services:
• Physician should clearly display his fees in his
chamber and/or hospitals he is visiting.
• He should announce his fees before rendering
service and not after the operation or treatment is
underway.
9. Evasion of legal restrictions: Physician should
observe the laws of the country in regulating the
practice of medicine and should not assist others to
evade such laws.
B. Duties of Physician towards State:
1. Poisoning cases:
a. He should assist the police in determining
whether the poisoning is accidental, suicidal or
homicidal.
b. In case of death, death certificate should mention
about the poisoning with recommendation for
post-mortem examination.
2. Notification: Doctor is bound to give information of
communicable diseases, births, deaths and outbreak
of an epidemic to public health authorities. Failing
which he is not only liable for criminal penalties, but
also negligence suits brought by affected persons.
3. Responding to emergency military service as and
when required.
C. Duties of a Physician towards Patients:
1. Obligation to the sick:
a. He should attend & examine the patient & furnish
necessary investigation, treatment and instruction
to patient. He must attend the patient in case of
emergency.
b. Medical practitioner having any incapacity to treat
the patient is not permitted to practice.
2. patient’s secrecy: The doctor is obliged to maintain
the secrets that he comes to know concerning the
patient in the course of a professional relationship
except when he is required by the law to divulge the
secrets or when the patient has consented for its
disclosure.
3. prognosis: the physician should neither exaggerate
nor minimize the gravity of a patient’s condition.
4. Consent: A mentally sound adult (<18 years) must
be told of all the relevant facts in non-medical terms
and in a language the patient understands and then
5. Operations
• Doctor should explain the nature and extent of
operation and take consent of patient.
• He should take proper care to avoid mistakes, such
as operating on the wrong patient or on wrong limb
or leave any instrument or swab inside a body
cavity.
• He should not delegate his duty to operate a patient
to another doctor.
• He should not experiment without valid reason or
valid consent from the patient.
• He should avail the assistance of qualified and
• Death on operation table should be followed by
post-mortem examination.
6. Emergency cases
• He has moral, ethical and humanitarian duty to help
the patient in saving his life.
• In medico-legal injury cases, a doctor is obliged to
give medical aid and to save life of the patient.
D. Duties of a Physician in Consultation:
I. Consultation for patient's benefit is of foremost
importance. Unnecessary consultations should be
avoided.
ii. Statement to patient after consultation should take
place in the presence of the consulting physician, except
if otherwise agreed. Differences of opinion should not
be divulged unnecessarily.
iii. Treatment after consultation: The attending physician
should make subsequent variations in the treatment, if
any unexpected change occurs. The attending physician
may prescribe medicine at any time for the patient,
whereas the consultant may prescribe only in case of
emergency or as an expert when called for.
iv. Patients referred to specialists: When a patient is
referred to a specialist by the attending physician, a case
summary of the patient should be given to the
specialist, who should communicate his opinion in
v. Fees & other charges:
• A physician shall clearly display his fees & other
charges on board of his chamber or in hospitals he
is visiting.
• A physician shall write his name & designation in
full along with reg.no. In his prescription letter.
Except in govt hospital, where patient load is heavy,
the name of doctor with signature is written below.
E. Responsibility of Physicians towards Each Other:
1. Dependence of physician on each other: a
physician should consider it as a pleasure &
privilege to give service to all physicians & their
immediate family dependents.
2. Conduct in consultation: No insincerity, rivalry/envy
should be indulged in. All due respect should be
observed towards the physician in-charge of the
case and no statement or remark be made, which
would impair the confidence the patient has reposed
in him.
3. Consultant not to take charge of the case:
Consultant should normally not take charge of the
case, especially on the solicitation of the patient or
Friends.
4. Appointment of substitute: A physician should
accept to attend another physician's patients during
he has the capacity to discharge the additional
responsibility along with his other duties. He should
give atmost consideration to such case & reputation
of the absent physician.
5. Visiting another physician’s case: while visiting the
case of other physician, he shall not criticize the
referring physician. He shall discuss the diagnosis
treatment plan with the referring physician.
F. Duty of physician to public & to the paramedical
profession:
1. Physician as citizen: being a good citizen he should
take interest on public health issues. He should co-
operate with authorities in the administration of
2. Public & community health: he should enlighten
the public concerning quarantine regulations &
measures for the prevention of epidemic 7
communicable diseases.
3. Pharmacists & nurses: he should recognize &
promote the practice of different paramedical
services such as pharmacy & nursing.
 Unethical acts
A medical practitioner should not commit any of the following
acts which may be construed as unethical:
i. Advertising: He should not:
a. Solicit patients directly or indirectly, by a physician or a
group of physicians or by institutions.
b.Make use his name for any advertising through any mode,
so as to invite attention to his professional position.
c. Give any recommendation, endorsement or statement with
respect of any drug, surgical or therapeutic appliance for
use in connection with his name, signature or photograph in
any form of advertising (no association with manufacturing
firms) nor shall he boast of cases, operations or cures or
permit the publication of report thereof through any mode.
d. Print self-photograph or any such material of
publicity in the letterhead or on sign board of the
consulting room.
• A medical practitioner is however permitted to
make a formal announcement in press regarding
the following:
a. On starting or resumption or change of type of
practice.
b. On changing address.
c. On temporary absence from duty.
d. On succeeding to another practice.
e. Public declaration of charges.
ii. Patent and copyrights: He may patent surgical
instruments, appliances, procedures and medicine.
However, it shall be unethical, if the benefits of such
patents are not made available in situations where
the interest of large population is involved.
iii. He should not run an open shop for dispensing of
drugs and appliances prescribed by other physicians.
iv. Rebates & commission (dichotomy/fee splitting):
He should not give or receive any gift or commission
in consideration of referring, recommending or
procuring of patient for medical, surgical or other
treatment or for getting specimen or material for
v. Secret remedies: He should not prescribe or
dispense secret remedial agents of which he does
not know the composition. All the drugs prescribed
by a physician should always carry a proprietary
formula and clear name.
vi. Human rights: He should not aid or abet torture or
be a party to either infliction of psychological or
physical trauma.
vii. Euthanasia: He should not practice euthanasia.
viii. Pharmaceutical and allied health sector industry:
A medical practitioner should not receive any gift,
cash or monetary grants, travel facility or accept
any hospitality like hotel accommodation from any
pharmaceutical industry for vacation or for attending
conferences, seminars, workshops or CME
programme as a delegate.