Nagpur: The Indian Medical Association's (IMA) national body has come up with the idea of following a code of conduct while posting on social media. The IMA has issued directives that doctors should post on social media about patients only if necessary and authentic.IMA President Dr KK Agrawal said, "Doctors should realize that such posts , remarks and comments that may have legal implications or underscore the importance of etiquettes should be avoided".Recently, there was an issue in which the Indian Medical Association (IMA) received an e-mail regarding a doctor at a dialysis centre in Mumbai threatening to throw out some patients and leaving them to die in a post on social media (Facebook)."We asked team IMA Maharashtra to immediately form a three member committee and visit the dialysis centre to find out the details and credentials of the doctor. The said person is not a member of the IMA or registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC). An enquiry needs to be conducted to establish if the person is a genuine doctor or a quack and whether the person is a qualified allopathic doctor or an ayush doctor? If not, then in what capacity is she working in the dialysis centre? The matter has been referred to the Maharashtra Medical Council and the Medical Council of India (MCI), " said Dr Agrawal.Dr Agrawal said that the laws do not allow discrimination on the grounds of religion to anybody and have made it a punishable offence. "As doctors, we have a duty to treat all patients equally. Regulation 7.15 of the MCI Code of Ethics Regulations has said as follows: The registered medical practitioner shall not to 'refuse on religious grounds alone to give assistance in or conduct of sterility, birth control, circumcision and medical termination of pregnancy when there is medical indication, unless the medical practitioner feels himself/herself incompetent to do so."Doctors are expected to abide by the declaration signed at the time of making an application for registration under the provisions of the Indian Medical Council Act, which says, "I will not permit considerations of religion, nationality, race, party politics or social standing to intervene between my duty and my patient,"Section 153A IPC. "Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.Section 295A IPC. "Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. Whoever, with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens of India, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of that class, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both."Dr Agarwal claims that the individuals who impersonate as 'doctors' endanger the lives of people who trust them with their care. This is why IMA was demanding a stringent Central Anti-Quackery Law and punishment for quacks. Despite the existence of privacy options, many items published in social media are publicly accessible. Assume that no sites are fully private, said Dr Agrawal.Before posting any story or comment, always ask yourself "Is it the truth; is it necessary and will it bring happiness to me and the others". If the answer to any of these questions is no, then do not post it.

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