According to the guidelines, information on patients diagnosed with HIV should be furnished to the National AIDS Control Organisation and State AIDS Control Societies in the prescribed form on a quarterly basis. The guidelines also refer to maintaining in-patient records for three years and issuing medical records within 72 hours on request by patients/authorised attendant/legal authority. The KMC, in a circular, has warned that failure to comply with the guidelines will be construed as professional misconduct. The guidelines come under the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations 2002.
SC direction
The move came after the Supreme Court ordered the governing body of the Medical Council of India earlier this month, to direct all private doctors to furnish information on HIV patients, clinically evaluated for second line Anti-Retroviral Therapy. India has about 3.5 lakh HIV infected people.
Published 30 October 2010, 17:11 IST