No, doctors cannot ask for tips or gratuity under any circumstances

At a time when the government has just tabled a bill aimed at reducing “the growing pressure” surrounding tipping in businesses, the Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ) has seen fit to remind physicians that “soliciting a tip (when you're a doctor) is a no-no!”This reminder of professional ethics comes in the wake of numerous patient reports recently received by the CMQ. After an appointment with their doctor, it was suggested to them, via a payment terminal, that they add an amount or a certain percentage to their medical consultation fees as a tip.The Collège considers this practice “unprofessional” and “completely out of place. Worse still, it is contrary to medical ethics, as well as to the honour and dignity of the profession.” This categorical opinion, “applies to any amount solicited in the name of the physician, but also in that of his staff,” stated a note published on the CMQ website.Same goes for staff The ban on soliciting tips applies in all cases, whether the care received is covered by the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec or is provided in the private sector.Relying on articles 104 and 105 of the Code of Ethics for Physicians, relating to fees, the Collège specifies that gratuities are not among the items that may appear on a physician's fee account, “especially since all prices for these items must be posted upstream, in full view of everyone, in the clinic or medical office waiting room.”Even if given to non-medical staff employed in the clinic, office or medical practice, “any discretionary amount solicited from patients directly contravenes the physician's professional obligations,” added the College, this time referring to articles 8 and 9 of the Code of Ethics.Finally, the CMQ points out that, when it comes to tips, the notion of a helping relationship must also be taken into consideration. Any therapeutic relationship is deemed “unequal” in the sense that a patient whose state of health requires care depends on the physician to obtain it and to be cared for. “In this context, asking for tips can put the patient in an uncomfortable situation, which is another reason to prohibit them,” said the College, reminding doctors who contravene this directive that at the very least they will be subjected to an investigation.

No, doctors cannot ask for tips or gratuity under any circumstances

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