Standardisation of Testing Labs and Reform in Affordable Quality healthcare in India

I am compelled to write this report as I witnessed lots of

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malpractices and is a great exploitation in health care sector in

India. Nowadays meeting a so called specialist doctors and getting

affordable treatment becomes a distant dream in India due to various

factors. Doctors not relying or trusting upon various lab report and

they advise us to take lab report of their own choice. Recently a

friend of mine had taken 2 sonography and 1 x-ray and 1 IVP test. 3

doctors give 3 different opinion 3 of the result shows kidney stones

and last (experience) IVP test not showing similar result which took

from Hindu Sabha Hospital, Ghatkopar, Mumbai. Most of the time,

doctors prescribe unwanted tests and expensive medicines which only increase the complication. How one can trust a specialist doctor?

1. My question now is how do different testing centres show different results?

2. Why does every time a doctor compells the patient to get unwanted tests done?

3. How can a patient trust a reports showing varying results from different testing centres?

4. How can the patients ensure that the tests done were genuine and the reports are based on the samples submitted by them?

5. What is the basic right of a patient when he approaches the doctor regarding treatment, fee, avoid/ telling them to prescribe the cheapest generic medicine available locally etc?

6. How can we stop such medical practitioners from extracting enormous amounts from poor patients by misguiding them, and bring more transparency into the system.

7. What is the code of conduct for the doctors and what

mechanism is available to redress the grievance of poor patients who have not been provided proper treatment by the doctors.?

8. What is the simplest method available to understand that

specialist doctors/ other doctors (acting like well organised trade

unionist) have conducted a proper diagnose and whether a third party can be involved to inspet the results?

9. What sre the standards for pricing mechanism of Pharma products as multinationals make billions by charginf exorbitant rates. There is no transparency in product pricing even for

generic medicine.

I have a following suggestion:-

1. A specialised body comprising doctors, consumer activist, NGOs, Lawyers and other eminent persons should be appointed by the govt. instead of depending only on MCI (medical council of India) and other doctors' body. It will be a biased body and one doctor cannot go against another doctor as outside forces like Pharma companies, testing centres, super specialty hospital and other vested interest try to protect the doctors who are engaged in malpractices.

2. There should be an increase in the number of medical seats in a specialised field to reduce acute shortage and monopoly of the existing specialist doctors and bring competition into the medical profession.

3. Strict code of conduct for doctors should be implemented

considering the above suggestion and rights of the patients should be displayed in every hospital, clinic and dispensary both inside and outside the doctor's room and doctor's fee should also be displayed.

4. Unwanted prescription and testing at all level hsould be avoided.

5. There should be a pricing mechanism for all medicines especially generic medicines and a special body should monitor the activities of pharma companies in order to break the nexus between doctor and pharma companies, testing centres, and multi specialty hospital.

6. It is the right of the patient to be informes about the manner os medicaiton, fees, and other things. Some hospital after admitting patients never allow their relatives to take discharge while the patient is getting wrongly diagnosed and given improper treatment jsut to extract money in the name of testing.

In India there is no transparency in medication and the patient is always at the mercy of the doctors. Government of India and every state government in India should pass a legislation protecting the interest of the patients and bring accountability and transparency in medical profession and other related issues and undue influence of pharma companies, multi speciality hospital, and other vested interests in commercialisation of health sector.

Hope the present UPA-II take drastic steps in this regard.