In its professional behavior norms, the National Medical Commission (NMC), the country's medical education body, specifies that doctors can refuse treatment for abusive or aggressive patients or their relatives while ensuring they are not left without care.

“In case of abusive, unruly, and violent patients or relatives, the RMP [Registered Medical Practitioner] can document and report the behaviour and refuse to treat the patient,” the NMC said in the regulations relating to professional conduct of RMPs. “Such patients should be referred for further treatment elsewhere.”

The NMC's regulations prohibit doctors from endorsing drug brands, medicines, or equipment, or from engaging in advertisements, according to a gazette notification dated August 2.

The restrictions also state that Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) and their families are not permitted to accept gifts, trips, cash, consulting fees, or any other form of entertainment from pharmaceutical firms, medical device companies, commercial healthcare organizations, or corporate hospitals.

The regulations state that this exclusion does not apply to RMPs' pay and employment benefits from these organizations. Furthermore, the regulations state that RMPs must not participate in third-party educational activities such as CPD, seminars, workshops, symposia, conferences, and so on if these events are directly or indirectly funded by pharmaceutical companies or the allied health industry.

“RMP individually or as part of an Organisation/association shall not give to any person or to any companies or to any products or to software/platforms, whether for compensation or otherwise, any approval, recommendation, endorsement… concerning any drug brand, medicine, nostrum remedy, surgical, or therapeutic article, apparatus or appliance or any commercial product or article with respect of any property, quality or use thereof or any test, demonstration or trial thereof, for use in connection with his name, signature, or photograph in any form or manner of advertising through any mode nor shall he boast of cases, operations, cures or remedies…,” the regulations said.

Rules require disclosure of surgery costs, informed choices, and consultation fees.

“RMP can refuse to treat or to continue to treat a patient if the fees, as indicated, are not paid. At the same time this does not apply to doctors in government service or emergencies but the doctor must ensure that the patient is not abandoned,” the regulations said.

Alcohol use affecting professional practice is misconduct. “Emergency” is now defined as a “life and limb saving procedure.”