• Online medical consultation in India

Is online medical consultation legal in india
Asked 6 years ago in Constitutional Law

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19 Answers

Hello,

It is not illegal as of now .

Regards

Swarupananda Neogi
Advocate, Kolkata
2963 Answers
6 Consultations

4.7 on 5.0

HI, if you are holding a valid medical degree then you can provide medical consultations online...

Hemant Chaudhary
Advocate, Gurgaon
4630 Answers
67 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

It is a very risky endeavour, in my opinion. It probably constitutes the unauthorized practice of medicine. The problem here is that you would tell a person a set of symptoms and do so without an examination and if anything goes wrong to the patient, be prepared to face a lot of litigation coming towards you.

Siddharth Jain
Advocate, New Delhi
6303 Answers
102 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Firstly, yes it is legal in India, but subject to some conditions.

Secondly, but, whenever you are taking online consultation specifically medical opinion then keep in mind that no doctor registered with any online forum would ever tell you to have any medicine.

Thirdly, they would only prescribe the nature of disease by going through the symptoms been given by the patient.

Rest you can have e detail conversation with me through Kanoon, if you have been dumbed by violating the conditions of the online medical facility.

Sanjay Baniwal
Advocate, South Delhi
5473 Answers
13 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

is not advisable to prescribe medicine to a patient without an in-person physical examination. For instance, a patient suffering from cancer can be told that he needs to undergo chemotherapy, but the dosage cannot be prescribed without meeting the patient in person,

2) online medical consultation is not illegal

3) it is best suited when one is looking for a second opinion or wants to know only the line of treatment for a particular disease,”

4) Moreover, a wrong diagnosis simply because you were not physically examined by a doctor who misread the symptoms stated by you can mean a much higher cost later for treatment elsewhere.

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94518 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Insist on test reports before prescribing any line of treatment

You cannot be personally liable if you have prescribed medicines after checking medical reports

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94518 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

See there is no legal act governing it as such but the laws and rules made by indian.medical council and information and technology act should be followed.

further for assessing medical condition there is requirement to personal assess and identify symptoms if doctor doesn't follow such procedure there can be trouble though there are portals in india providing such services but in my advice donot do it.

Shubham Jhajharia
Advocate, Ahmedabad
25514 Answers
179 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

See since a physician before prescribing any medical drug has to identify the symptoms so in case there mishap there can be negligence on part and the doctor can be held liable.

Shubham Jhajharia
Advocate, Ahmedabad
25514 Answers
179 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Firstly, yes it is legal in India, but subject to some conditions. Secondly, but, whenever you are taking online consultation specifically medical opinion then keep in mind that no doctor registered with any online forum would ever tell you to have any medicine.

Secondly, The Medical Council of India should adopt regulations permitting doctors to offer virtual consultation and legalise virtual prescriptions. According to Indian law a doctor's advice to patients even on telephone – a common practice today – is illegal unless it is a medical emergency.

Ganesh Kadam
Advocate, Pune
12910 Answers
253 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

Dear Client,

Once enrolled with MCI, consultation is valid through online.

Difference in wrong advise and advised not bear expected result.

For wrong advise, Liabilities, same what ever borne in Medical Negligence.

Yogendra Singh Rajawat
Advocate, Jaipur
22595 Answers
31 Consultations

4.4 on 5.0

Hi

1) We are seeing rapid growth of Online medical consultation with more than 50+ portals offering various services such as online magazines, doctors’ search, online consultation, parenting & baby care, e-commerce portal of health related products and even social or professional networking portals for doctors and healthcare professionals.

2) Portals such as Doctorvista, icliniq.com are rather noted for their Online medical consultation services

3) It has been clarified vide Section 27 of MCI Act and by Supreme Court in the case of Malay Ganguly v. Medical Council of India and Ors. that a person who is borne in the Indian Medical Register can practice anywhere in India”.

4) However the only challenge will be in the area of prescription of drugs by doctors as Indian courts have stated that prescriptions should not ordinarily be given to a patient without actual examination. The courts have strictly observed that the tendency to give prescriptions over the telephone should be avoided, except in cases of emergency

5) Since e-Health services are not location-specific, service recipients are distributed around the country. This

becomes an issue in the case of an untoward event which leads to a suit being filed in a civil, criminal or

consumer court. The plaintiff – the aggrieved patient in this case – is entitled to institute a suit at a forum

where he or she is situated, which requires the provider of the service to have to travel to the location in which

the suit has been instituted. This also acts as a deterring factor for practitioners who are on the fence regarding

the adoption of e-Health services in their practice, as there is a constant risk of having to travel to any part of

the country to appear before the relevant forum if a case is instituted

6) Incidentally to avoid any legal liability on part of portal, the portal should have written agreements with doctors where in the portal and doctors are construed as independent entities and do NOT have any employer- employee relationship and that the service provider (portal) does not have any control or supervision over the acts of doctors and as such the portal shall not be in any which way liable (civil/criminal/consumer/MCI) arising as a result of act of independent doctor.

Hope this information is useful.

Rajgopalan Sripathi
Advocate, Hyderabad
2173 Answers
394 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Is online medical consultation legal in india

According to Indian law a doctor's advice to patients even on telephone – a common practice today – is illegal unless it is a medical emergency.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84711 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Whats the legal liability can it be challenged in consumer court in case of any mishaps

The healthcare service provider adopting telemedicine methods of medical practice must ensure that medical consultation, prescriptions, treatment and drugs are dispensed only in accordance with legal provisions and guidelines regulating the medical and healthcare sector in India.

Under the present laws relating to the above in India, a fully automated process solely based on an artificial intelligence program may not be legally feasible, as it is a basic requirement that only medical practitioners registered before the Medical Council of India and other relevant laws are allowed to provide medical consultation,prescriptions and treatment

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84711 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

There is no illegality in online medical consultation. However such consultation must not be followed up by giving any prescriptions.

In other words a general advice can be given but through online consultation no medicine can be prescribed. it is prohibited in India or in most part of the world.

Devajyoti Barman
Advocate, Kolkata
22774 Answers
484 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. For giving medical consultation, the patient shall have to be physically examined by the Doctor to diagnose the ailment/problem of the patient to determine the medicine or treatment protocol.

2. So as per the Act, no medical advise can be given regularly without physically examining the patients.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Forget about filing complaint case before the Consumer Court in case of any mishap arising out of such online medical advice, the Medical Council of India will immediately lodge a police complaint against the administrator of the Portal offering such online medical advice inviting danger to the online patients.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Dear Sir,

Every online business is legal when such business is not banned by any Act. Medical Consultation may be primary leading to first aid advise is not banned by any health department in India. Similarly legal liability is also very limited or nil if any mishaps happened. Nothing to worry. If you disclose the contents of complaint, I am in a position to advise you how to take and what to take the defense.

Kishan Dutt Kalaskar
Advocate, Bangalore
6135 Answers
483 Consultations

4.8 on 5.0

no it is not legal

Anilesh Tewari
Advocate, New Delhi
18077 Answers
377 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

If any mishap take place the MCI can take action, FIR can be lodged and case can be filed in consumer forum.

Just online pharmacies are working in India as of now and not medical consultations.

Regards

Anilesh Tewari
Advocate, New Delhi
18077 Answers
377 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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