Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) has published the details of 70,000 registered doctors and dentists on its website.
The names and photos of the doctors, along with their addresses and registration numbers, are now available on www.bmdc.org.bd.
The country has around 76,000 doctors at present, with 69,000 MBBS doctors and 7,000 dentists. The database on the BMDC website, however, contains the details of 70,000 registered doctors, with 66,000 MBBS doctors and 4,000 dentists.
The BMDC, in a circular issued on September 1, urged all registered doctors to mention their registration numbers in the prescriptions, visiting cards and signboards to avoid any sort of legal harassment. The circular said a group of fake doctors were cheating the patients using phoney registration numbers in the recent time.
BMDC Registrar Dr ZH Basunia unveiling the list of registered doctors online said it was aimed at helping people verify the authenticity of the healthcare professionals.
“We have already got positive results of the initiative. Mobile court officials are now able to check the authenticity of doctors in just a few moments,” he added.
Deceivers impersonate real doctors
In the last two months, RAB arrested several people from different parts of the country who had no registration numbers but were practising as genuine doctors.
On April 17, the BMDC issued a circular to all doctors and dentists, directing them not to use any designation or academic attainment that is not recognised by the council.
Unrecognised qualifications
A considerable number of doctors allegedly claim themselves as specialists, and put a range of abbreviations in the nameplates and business cards to signify their medical qualifications.
The widely used abbreviations include PGT, BHS, FCPS, MD (in course), MD (part 1), MD (part 2), MD (thesis), MD (final part) and MS (in course).
Besides, doctors write the names of credentials they received from abroad such as FRCP, FRHS, FICA, FICS, FAMS and FIAGP, which are not recognised by the BMDC.
Basunia said this is a practice aimed at deceiving patients, and also a violation of the BMDC rules. This is a punishable offence, he said.
