The National Medical Commission has said that live broadcasts of surgery should not be used to promote operating surgeons, hospitals or product brands and the patient’s consent should be obtained before such an effort.

In its detailed guidelines issued this week to regulate the conduct and broadcast of live surgery, the Commission said that surgeons should not have financial or commercial interests in the equipment used during operation.

“Live broadcast should strictly serve educational objectives and not for business gains or promotion. Surgeons should avoid glory, and meditate on surgical techniques and patient care,” the criteria said.

Complications and risks associated with live broadcasts should be addressed through strict rules and insurance coverage, emphasized.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) said that while a live surgery can be educational, it cannot provide the same depth of learning as interactive or hands-on training.

Live surgery, in any case, may seem valuable for experienced learning, but lacks solid evidence supporting its educational effectiveness compared to pre-scored surgical videos.

East-ridden videos provide better frame-by-frame analysis, video editing, and labeling, enhancing educational experience, NMC said.

There are moral issues about the use of patients for educational purposes. Educational benefits cannot always hold potential discomfort or risk for the patient, it was noted.

It states that patients are rarely informed that the attention of the surgeon can be divided during a live surgery, possibly putting them at risk. The presence of cameras and a large audience can potentially cause anxiety and affect the patient’s comfort and overall experience.

“In the name of live surgery, patients are possibly exploited commercially and are used as models to meet the previous objectives of various companies, which are complete ignorance of moral standards set by NMC for surgery,” said the document.

Advertising, sponsorship, and professional showmanships oversee the correct purpose of live surgery. NMC stated that healthcare features demonstrate their abilities, surgeons enhance their skills, and companies promote their products, all patients at the cost of safety, said NMC.

It said that unions of many doctors in India and abroad have banned live surgery at conferences as the pressure to perform live while interacting with the audience can spoil the performance of the surgeon.

There is also a counterpoint view that says that since the onset of surgical practice, live surgical workshop has been a part and parcel teaching and parcel. With new technologies, it is now possible to broadcast live surgery with students and surgeons, sitting in a remote place and looking at the high-wagged and high-resolution images of the nuances and complications of surgical techniques, the document said.

This is a global accepted method of learning and because of this, surgery which were only a few available in top hospitals and are now being practiced in Tier to and Tier Three Towns in private or government sectors.

“In view of the above, Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), NMC recorded videos, weight labs, cadverric and simulation-based surgery are in favor of promoting, as they do not give any risk to the patient,” said this.

Issuing the guidelines, NMC said that sponsors or supervisors should be under compensation insurance coverage.

Foreign Medical Physicians (FMPs) require a temporary permission from Ethics and Medical Registration Board, which will nominate a special specialist team to give permit, the guidelines said.

He said that before inviting FMP to perform live surgery, the sponsor needs prior permission from the concerned State Medical Council.

The guidelines stated, “Live broadcast should not be used for the promotion of operating surgeons, hospitals or product brands.”

According to the criteria, live surgery should be performed in a hospital recognized by a recognized body to meet its safety and hygiene standards.

All the necessary pre-operative, operative, anesthetic, post-operative, laboratory, radiological, and ICU (intensive care unit) and other essential features to manage matters of complications should be easily available to manage matters of complications and other essential features in the operation theater.

A plan should be implemented for managing complications during live broadcast, qualified standby staff and equipment is easily available, it has been said.

As far as the selection of the patient is concerned, the NMC stated that patients should not be included with high -risk procedures, incomplete investigation, or unusual anatomy.

Patients should fit medically, there should be no differences for surgery, and there is no financial incentive for participation.

“However, patients can be enrolled in insurance coverage for protection against any unexpected incidents during live surgery. In addition, they should be informed about the availability and limitations of this insurance,” the guidelines said.

New processes can be broadcast live, while recording must be preferred for installed procedures or high -risk cases.

The operating surgeon or team should clearly obtain the purpose of “broadcast (educational), the risk and benefits of participating, patient oblivion and privacy measures and the right to withdraw the consent at any time,” said the norms.

Operating doctors can broadcast, but should not interact with the audience during surgery to focus on the safety of the patient, it said.

The guidelines emphasized that prior permission from the relevant regulatory body, association or institute is mandatory for the operation of live surgical performances.

According to the guidelines, patients should not include any fees related to surgery, including transplantation, drugs, disposals and procedures. In addition, post-operative care should be provided by the operating surgical team.

The NMC guidelines states that the organizer should ensure the safety, privacy and welfare of the patient throughout the broadcast. They should obtain clear, informed and written consent from patients before the characteristic of surgery in live broadcasting.

The organizer should ensure that moral guidelines and data privacy rules are followed, NMC criteria said.