Much of the South African medical community is concerned that the auctioning of plastic surgery procedures on local auction site bidorbuy.co.za heralds the commercialisation of healthcare. The auction is being run in conjunction with the Netcare hospitals group, and is offering five elective cosmetic surgery procedures this week.
Sapa reports that Leonard Roode, acting registrar for the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA), called the venture inappropriate and misleading from an ethical and clinical point of view.
He says the council was unable to stop such online advertising as it only had jurisdiction over individual practitioners registered with the HPCSA, but that it was working with the Hospital Association of SA, which represented private hospitals, to draw up a code of conduct for private hospitals.
Dr Ian Kadish, one of the plastic surgeons involved, believes there is no real bone of contention. "At no point are any legal or ethical issues compromised. The patients will be treated exactly the same as any others. To my knowledge, there`s not been any dissent among plastic surgeons that I`ve spoken to."
Dr Joe Maelane, chairman of SA Medical and Dental Practitioners, says the Internet venture was "at the very least a disgrace". He notes that healthcare is an essential service which could not be auctioned like a car or furniture.
Maelane says people bidding for plastic surgery on the Internet might not be able to afford treatment in a private clinic if there were complications, and this could put a burden on public hospitals if this became common practice.
A concern raised on the South African Medical Association`s Web site is one of the guiding principles of the Medical and Dental Professional Board`s Guidelines for Making Professional Services Known. In terms of this principle, patients are entitled to protection from misleading promotional, advertising or improper competitive activities among healthcare professionals.
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