Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain invites suggestions on improving health infrastructure in Delhi

We must thank the good doctor for coming out with truth about unscrupulous men in his medical community and warning us against too much medication and too many doctor visits. Simple home remedies can cure a lot of diseases. We should prefer older docs rather than young doctors with a string of defrees in shiny cabins. more  

I hope, the following tips may help us stop the malpractices. One of my senior colleagues circulated the following message: Dr B M Hegde writes Doc tors, regarded as most noble, have all becomeruthless businessmen . These details are direct from the mouth of a highly qualified and respected medical professional doctor himself! 10 ways how doctors in India loot patients New Delhi, Sept 10 : A renowned physician Dr B M Hegde has shown how a large number of doctors working in five-star hospitals short change patients in order to keep their management happy and enrich their own pockets. Here is what Dr B M Hegde writes: "Most of these observations are either completely or partially true. Corruption has many names, and the civil society isn't innocent either. Professionals and businessmen of various sorts indulge in unscrupulous practices. I recently had a chat with some doctors, surgeons and owners of nursing homes about the tricks of their trade. Here is what they said.......... 1) 40-60% kickbacks for lab tests. When a doctor (whether family doctor / general physician, consultant or surgeon) prescribes tests - pathology, radiology, X-rays, MRIs etc. the laboratory conducting those tests gives commissions. In South and Central Mumbai -- 40%. In the suburbs north of Bandra -- a whopping 60 per cent! He probably earns a lot more in this way than the consulting fees that you pay. 2) 30-40% for referring to consultants, specialists surgeons. When your friendly GP refers you to a specialist or surgeon, he gets 30-40%. 3) 30-40% of total hospital charges. If the GP or consultant recommends hospitalizations, he will receive kickback from the private nursing homes as a percentage of all charges including ICU, bed, nursing care, surgery. 4) Sink tests Some tests prescribed by doctors are not needed. They are there to inflate bills and commissions. The pathology lab understands what is unnecessary. These are called "sink tests"; blood, urine, stool samples collected will be thrown. 5) Admitting the patient to "keep him under observation". People go to cardiologists feeling unwell and anxious. Most of them aren't really having a heart attack, and cardiologists andfamily doctors are well aware of this. They admit such safe patients, put them on a saline drip with mild sedation, andsend them home after 3-4 days after charging them a fat amount for ICU, bed charges, visiting doctors fees. 6) ICU minus intensive care. Nursing homes all over the suburbs are run by doctor couples or as one-man-shows. In such places, nurses and ward boys are 10th class drop-outs in ill-fitting uniforms and bare feet. These "nurses" sit at the reception counter, give injections and saline drips, perform ECGs, apply dressings and change bandages, and assist in the operation theatre. At night, they even sit outside the Intensive Care Units; there is no resident doctor. In case of a crisis, the doctor -- who usually lives in the same building -- will turn up after 20 minutes, after this nurse calls him. Such ICUs admit safe patients to fill up beds. Genuine patients who require emergency care are sent elsewhere to hospitals having a Resident Medical Officer (RMO) round-the-clock. 7) Unnecessary caesarean surgeries and hysterectomies. Many surgical procedures are done to keep the cash register ringing. Caesarean deliveries and hysterectomy (removal of uterus) are high on the list. While the woman with labour-pains is screaming and panicking, the obstetrician who gently suggests that caesarean is best seems like an angel sent by God! Menopausal women experience bodily changes that make them nervous and gullible. They can be frightened by words like "and fibroids" that are in almost every normal woman's radiology reports. When a gynaecologist gently suggests womb removal "as a precaution", most women and their husbands agree without a second's thought. 8) Cosmetic surgery advertised through newspapers. Liposuction and plastic surgery are not minor procedures. Some are life-threateningly major. But advertisements make them appear as easy as facials and waxing. The Indian medical council has strict rules against such misrepresentation. But nobody is interested in taking action. 9) Indirect kickbacks from doctors to prestigious hospitals. To be on the panel of a prestigious hospital, there is give-and-take involved. The hospital expects the doctor to refer many patients for hospital admission. If he fails to send a certain number of patients, he is quietly dumped. And so he likes to admit patients even when there is no need. 10) "Emergency surgery" on dead body. If a surgeon hurriedly wheels your patient from the Intensive Care Unit to the operation theatre, refuses to let you go inside and see him, and wants your signature on the consent form for "an emergency operation to save his life", it is likely that your patient is already dead. The "emergency operation" is for inflating the bill; if you agree for it, the surgeon will come out 15 minutes later and report that your patient died on the Operation table. And then, when you take delivery of the dead body, you will pay OT charges, anesthesiologist's charges, blah-blah-Doctors are humans too. You can't trust them blindly. Please understand the difference. Young surgeons and old ones. The young ones who are setting up nursing home etc. have heavy loans to settle. To pay back the loan, they have to perform as many operations as possible. Also, to build a reputation, they have to perform a large number of operations and develop their skills. So, at first, every case seems fit for cutting. But with age, experience and prosperity, many surgeons lose their taste for cutting, and stop recommending operations. Physicians and surgeons. To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Surgeons like to solve medical problems by cutting, just as physicians first seek solutions with drugs. So, if you take your medical problem to a surgeon first, the chances are that you will unnecessarily end up on the operation table. Instead, please go to an ordinary GP first [Prof. B. M. Hegde, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FRCPG, FRCPI, FACC, FAMS. Padma Bhushan Awardee 2010.Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of the Science of Healing Outcomes,Chairman, State Health Society's Expert Committee, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.Former Prof. Cardiology, The Middlesex Hospital Medical School, University of London, Affiliate Prof. of Human Health, Northern Colorado] more  

It is a problem area we need to pay attention. The problem is those collecting blood samples are not properly trained or careless and label the samples incorrectly (they put names wrongly without bothering to verify the names of patients properly). This happened with me long time back in a well known diagnostic Center in Connaught place area. The man putting name slips on the sample was putting wrong slip on my wife's blood sample. Luckily I was standing there, so told him about the mistake. The man was not at all sorry for such a big mistake. he just went on with his work. I was shocked and avoided that place ever since. This is what might have happened in the case of parents of Ms. Shikha Jain. it is always better to do double testing in two different labs in order to be sure, because doctors will prescribe medicines based on blood reports which may lead to dangerous consequences. Hospitals and diagnostic centers should take care in this area. more  

Would like to suggest that members who care about ethics in medical field may want to join the Medical Test and Diagnostic circle. My parents faced issues recently where they were misdiagnosed for sugar only to find out later that they did not have anything. I know there are quite a bit of unethical practices in this area. more  

You can put you comments here Same will be forwarded to him or mail them directly to Mr S K Jain Minister aapdelhihealth@gmail.com more