4 Pathologists chargsheeted by Maharashtra Medical Council after they allowed labs to use their name in return for money!
Four pathologists have been charghseeted by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) after they were found allowing labs to use their name and manual or electronic signature in return for cash!
All four doctors appeared for a hearing on Saturday in front of the MMC ethical committee. The panel moved to file the chargsheet against them for unethical practice and has asked the doctors to be present for the next hearing. MMC as a statutory body has the power to suspend doctors if found guilty or involved in malpractice. There are over 70,000 doctors registered with the MMC who can only practise in Mahrashtra.
Reports have revaled how since March 2014, many pathology labs across the state were fooling patients. Lab technicians and not pathologists have been found to sign lab reports in the name of doctors. The doctors then receive a remuneration for this. This practice was found to be rampant in – Thane, Navi Mumbai, Panvel and Borivili. MMC sources have said that the matter is being taken seriously, “If the MMC ethical committee has decided to file a chargesheet, it means prima facie the panel found some manipulation. Now the case will be heard by the executive committee, where the doctors will be allowed to bring in lawyers for their defense. If the doctors are found guilty during this hearing, they will be punished as per MMC rules.”
The Maharashtra Association of Practicing Pathologists and Microbiologists (MAPPM), an umbrella body of qualified pathologists, had filed the complaint against the four doctors. MAPPM president Dr Sandeep Yadav said, “We found that many qualified pathologists were allowing laboratories to use their name and manual or electronic signature in return for money. These doctors had never even visited the laboratories. Anyone can open a pathology laboratory today. The person has to acquire a Shops and Establishments License from the municipal corporation and show that they have a pathologist on rolls. In reality, there is no full-time qualified pathologist or part-time pathologist working in such labs. The lab technicians just use the electronic signature to prepare a report. For this, they pay money to these pathologists. In an ideal state of affairs, lab technicians are only supposed to collect samples. They don’t have the know-how of pathology. Legally, they cannot carry out any investigation, forget signing reports. Those who are doing this are playing with the lives of people,” he added. There are more than 15,000 path labs across the state, of which 1,600 operate out of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane.
Legal Angle
Pathology is part of modern medicine. The Medical Council of India (MCI) allows only registered medical practitioners holding a PG degree in pathology to practise. The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), too, endorses it. In 2005, the Bombay High Court had ruled that only qualified pathologists, recognised by MCI and MMC, can certify pathology reports. With this in mind, both the laboratories and pathologists are involving in malpractice by using pathologists credentials and allowing the use, respectively.
The MMC’s chargsheet is a good step forward so that doctors in the future are not tempted to involve in similar malpractice to make quick cash.
Image Credits: DNA Mumbai
