Stop direct selling of health supplements, doctors told

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: Doctors have been warned not to dispense unproven medicine to their patients or do direct selling, mainly of health supplements, in their clinics.
Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said doctors who tarnished the dignity and integrity of the profession would be severely dealt with, including being hauled to court.
He said doctors who indulged in questionable medical practices would be no better than people in pasar malam peddling snake oil or fake Viagra.
"The surreptitious recommendations of products of doubtful pharmaceutical benefits to patients must stop.
"I will not allow the prestige of medicine and the profession be denigrated during my watch as Director-General of Health," he said in an interview.
Dr Ismail is also concerned about doctors conducting direct selling in their clinics.
"Some even display products in the waiting areas and at the front of their clinics.
"As doctors, we must constantly be reminded of what we can and cannot do to safeguard the dignity of the profession," he said.
He said his ministry is now revising old laws and drawing up new ones to curb such activities.
The legislation include the Medical Act 1971, the Pathology Bill, the Traditional/Complementary Medicine Bill, the Medical Devices Act and the Cosmetology Bill.
He said the Malaysian Medical Council would also be revamped to give it more powers to conduct investigations and carry out enforcement.
This will ensure swift response to public complaints against doctors.
Dr Ismail advised doctors to depend more on their clinical acumen than on new technology.
He said the over-reliance on new technology had partly been the cause of delays in providing definitive treatment to patients, especially in emergency situations.
"I still hold the view that we must not abandon what we have been systematically taught in our medical schools," he said.
"The machine remains a machine. We are humans and are endowed with attributes that will help us make an intelligent diagnosis and plan the management strategy in a comprehensive manner, given the circumstances of each case."