Fee-splitting among doctors unethical

NST: IPOH: Demanding for discounts in exchange for keeping medical practitioners on a panel of doctors is tantamount to forcing them to split their fees, which is neither legal nor ethical, said the Perak Medical Practitioners Society.
"Either we are taken off the panel or we break the rules and get fined. It's a no-win situation," said society president Dr Sarjeet Singh Sidhu, when commenting on the dispute between Joint Inter-Hospital Healthcare Committee (JIHC) and ING Insurance Bhd over conditions in their Healthcare Service Panel Agreement.
He said the society, with over 400 doctors in private practice, supported the JIHC in its effort to prevent fee-splitting and ensuring the autonomy of doctors in providing the best healthcare for their patients.
"We want our autonomy. Don't tell us what to do. Don't ask for discounts."
Dr Sarjeet said there were already safeguards to ensure that doctors charge reasonable fees, adding that the healthcare of patients would be compromised if doctors were compelled to stick to a limited budget.
He said Managed Care Organisations should not be allowed to interfere with the medical management of patients. Patients should be allowed to see doctors of their choice and doctors, too, should be allowed to refer their patients as they saw fit.