Medical body to issue MLM
guidelines
By Li Xueying
THE Singapore Medical Association (SMA) is introducing guidelines
on multi-level marketing (MLM) in its advisory for doctor
members.
Its stand is that recruiting patients as MLM members within clinic
premises - whether during or outside consultations - is a definite
no-no, association spokesman Tan Sze Wee told The Sunday
Times.
The move comes after this paper reported last week that some
doctors were asking their patients to buy MLM health
products.
Two days ago, the Ministry of Health (MOH) also sent a circular to
all 6,500 registered medical practitioners here, reminding them of
the sacrosanct nature of the doctor-patient relationship, a
ministry spokesman said yesterday.
The SMA's advisory, to be amended by year-end, will spell out
guidelines on the promotion of such products.
Said Dr Tan: 'Doctors must disclose their financial interest to the
patients, and ensure that the products are backed by scientific
evidence.'
Currently, its advisory refers to only the sale of non-medicinal
products in clinics. It does not touch specifically on the subject
of health products sold via MLM, which is a form of direct selling
that rewards members not only for their own sales but also those
generated by members they recruit.
The association is a voluntary professional body comprising 68 per
cent of all doctors in Singapore, and does not have legal teeth to
enforce its regulations.
However, Dr Tan said doctors who do not toe the line will have to
be prepared to 'justify' their actions to their peers in the
Singapore Medical Council.
The association can and does refer cases to the council, an MOH
statutory board that governs the professional conduct of
Singapore's doctors.
The council told The Sunday Times last week that doctors may
promote vitamins, tonics, health and nutritional supplements that
are supported by 'good-quality scientific evidence'. But they must
disclose their interest to the patient before making a
referral.
Its spokesman added that 'doctors should not participate in the
promotion of MLM per se, meaning the recruiting of people into the
MLM structure'.
Last week, the MOH said in a letter to the Forum page that it had
referred some doctors mentioned in The Sunday Times article to the
council for investigation.
Speaking yesterday at a charity function, Health Minister Khaw Boon
Wan noted that MLM is not illegal in Singapore, and added that
'it's very hard to codify what is right and what is wrong'.
He said: 'The same action may be ethical in one circumstance, but
unethical in another.
