Council issues tough guidelines on medical advertisement

 

 

According to 2019 guidelines issued by the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council, doctors can only refer patients to their private entities only if the service is not available in public entities.

 

"However, in so doing (the doctors) must have the referral fully explained to the patient and the patient's consent is obtained," the guidelines issued on September 20, read in part.

 

Further, any medical practitioner or hospital seeking to advertise treatment services will have to get clearance from the council.

 

"The Council retains the final authority in deciding the acceptability of the contents of documents used in advertising… The Council shall charge a fee for the approval of advertisements under this guideline," the 11-page document reads.

 

The guidelines seek to protect vulnerable patients from unscrupulous persons by regulating advertisement, and any form of canvassing in the healthcare sector.

 

It stresses that advertising should be done professionally.

 

"Patients are entitled to protection from misleading advertisements. The medical practice landscape has greatly changed over the years and so has the media for advertisement. These guidelines take this into account."

 

The Council states that the advert should be truthful, accurate and verifiable. It should not be false, deceptive, misleading or unduly inducing.

 

"It should not lie about the services and the persons offering the services. It should not create false expectations in the users which will result in making the wrong decision. It should not give information that implies that one professional is better qualified, more skillful, more competent or has unique qualities compared to other professionals in the same field of practice. e) It should not make the person feel that if they do not use that service they will be harmed," the document reads.

 

"They should not include the photo of a celebrity," it adds.

 

In case of breach of these guidelines, the council vowed that it would take appropriate disciplinary action and the cost borne by the doctor or organization or both.

 

These standards also apply to the use of social media.

 

"Patient confidentiality and privacy of the patients and consent should be observed. So one needs to be extra careful because the messages sent or exchanged through social media get out there and there is no control on how it may be used or misused," the guidelines read.