The Medical Council of Thailand (MCT) has warned that doctors whose names are used to endorse a clinic without actually working there will be punished under a new set of regulations.
Speculation over doctors being paid for their names or faces being displayed on billboards, websites and social media to advertise beauty clinics and medical facilities has recently gained the attention of netizens, following Senator Keskamol Pleansamai's 126-million-baht asset case, as revealed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
Approximately 210,000 baht of her annual income came from having her name displayed on the sign of a clinic for which she did not work, the NACC said.
Dr Methee Wongsirisuwan, Assistant Secretary at the MCT, on Monday said that such an action is considered a breach of disciplinary rules and also illegal under the Medical Council's newly announced regulations that will come into effect on Feb 9.
The penalties range from an immediate one-year suspension of a medical licence to the permanent revocation of a medical licence for repeat violators.
According to Dr Methee, an "on the sign" doctor may earn up to 50,000 baht a month.
Most of these doctors claim not to be aware that they have violated the law and ethics regulations because they were allegedly informed by recruiters that such action was legitimate.
Dr Methee said that MCT has received many complaints about such schemes and is warning doctors, especially those who have just graduated from school, not to risk their medical careers by agreeing to be part of them.
Dr Arkhom Praditsuwan, deputy director of the Department of Health Service Support, said that the HSS also ensures that the operation of medical clinics complies with the Medical Facilities Act 1998.
Doctors whose names are displayed at the clinics are required to work there.
Clinic owners and managers will also be punished if found guilty.
Those found guilty in such a case face penalties that range from a 40,000-baht fine to a five-year jail term, Dr Arkhom said.
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