New Delhi: Striking the balance between endorsement and prescription, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has issued new guidelines for the medical practitioners across the country.

The doctors now seen endorsing or participating in private studies on efficacy of drugs and accepting any kind of hospitality from the pharmaceutical companies now may not fit in within the prescribed code of conduct enumerated with the MCI.

It has recently amended the "Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulation 2002" according to which it does not allow the medical practitioners to accept any gifts or travel facility from any pharmaceutical company or the health care industry.

The new rules enumerate that a medical practitioner is free to carry out, participate or work in research projects funded by pharmaceutical and allied health care industries, but has to ensure permission to carry out the particular project from the competent authorities.

He also has to ensure that the research project gets clearance from an institutional ethics body.

While dealing with the pharmaceutical and allied health care industries, a medical practitioner has to always ensure that there shall be no compromise either with his or her own professional autonomy or with the autonomy and freedom of the medical institution where he or she is working.

Talking about endorsements, a doctor will not endorse any drug or product of the industry publicly.

Any study conducted on the effectiveness or otherwise of such products shall be presented to or through appropriate scientific bodies or published in appropriate journals in a proper way, is the prescribed path to be followed now.