The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) has warned doctors and dentists against lending or sharing their professional credentials with other people for insurance pre-authorisation, billing or other healthcare transactions. In a public notice issued on Tuesday, September 22, KMPDC Chief Executive Officer and Registrar Dr David Kariuki said registration numbers, practising licences, professional stamps, signatures and related credentials are personal to individual practitioners. The Council said the credentials must not be used by another person to obtain approval or payment from insurers, the Social Health Authority (SHA) or any other healthcare payer.

“Practitioners are reminded that registration numbers, practicing licenses, professional stamps, signatures, and related credentials are personal to the registered practitioner,” Kariuki said.

KMPDC also warned practitioners against allowing their credentials to be used to falsely indicate that they will perform, or have performed, a medical procedure when the procedure was actually carried out by someone else. Kariuki said practitioners who allow others to use their credentials could be held personally liable for the resulting transactions. He warned that such conduct could amount to professional misconduct or fraud and expose practitioners to disciplinary proceedings before the Council.

“Any practitioner who allows another person to use their credentials for pre-authorisation, billing, or related purposes shall be held personally liable,” Kariuki stated.

According to the Council, disciplinary action may include suspension or cancellation of a practitioner’s registration or practising licence, in addition to possible civil or criminal liability. The warning places responsibility on individual doctors and dentists to ensure that their professional identifiers are not used to authorise services, submit claims or represent procedures they did not personally undertake. KMPDC extended the warning to health facilities, cautioning them against facilitating the misuse of practitioners’ credentials.

The Council said facilities that allow unqualified people to undertake major invasive procedures, or facilitate misuse of professional credentials, could face regulatory sanctions, including suspension or cancellation of their licences. Kariuki further reminded health institutions that major invasive procedures should only be performed by medical and dental practitioners who are registered and licensed by KMPDC and operating within the scope of their authorisation.

The KMPDC is responsible for regulating the training and practice of medicine and dentistry in Kenya, including registration, licensing and inspection of practitioners and health facilities. The latest directive therefore puts both practitioners and health facilities on notice that professional credentials must remain tied to the individuals authorised to use them, particularly where insurance approvals, payments and medical procedures are concerned.