Open secret: Doctors take cuts for referrals
Open secret: Doctors take cuts for referrals
Rema NagarajanRema Nagarajan,TNN | Jun 28, 2014, 03.22 AM IST
Dr MK Mani, chief nephrologist in Apollo Hospital Chennai, told TOI that the practice of doctors getting kickbacks from any expensive operation or diagnostic procedure was pervasive and openly done.
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NEW DELHI: Eminent doctors across India are unified in their opinion that doctors play a key role in "the kickbacks and bribes that oil every part of the healthcare machinery".
The debate was sparked by an article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on corruption in the Indian medical practice a couple of months ago followed by an editorial on the same issue in the latest issue of the journal written by Dr Samiran Nundy, one of India's leading gastroenterologists.
Dr Nundy, who is chairman of the department of surgical gastroenterology and organ transplantation at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said corruption was all pervasive in healthcare delivery in India starting with capitation fees for entry into medical colleges.
The editorial, titled "Corruption in Indian Medicine", came out just as the Kokilaben Dhirubai Ambani Hospital (KDAH) in Mumbai acknowledged, in a letter to the Maharashtra Medical Council, that it offered "incentives to doctors" to refer patients to the hospital (first reported in TOI on May 13 with a follow-up on June 15). The complaint before MMC stated that the hospital had been sending out forms to various doctors to enrol in a forum promising a reward of Rs 1 lakh for 40 admissions per annum, Rs 1.5 lakh for 50 admissions and Rs 2.5 lakh for 75 admissions.
A young woman undergoing CT scan. (Getty Images photo)
The article to which Dr Nundy responded was written by an Australian doctor, Dr David Berger, who had volunteered in a small charitable hospital in the Himalayas. He spoke of how reference for an electrocardiogram (ECG) at a private heart clinic or other investigations attracted 10-15% kickback to the referring doctor. "I saw one patient with no apparent structural heart disease and uncomplicated essential hypertension who had been followed up by a city cardiologist with an echocardiogram every three months, a totally unnecessary investigation," said Dr Berger.
"In many of our five-star corporate hospitals, where the main motive seems to be profit for the shareholders, there is an institutionalized system of so called 'facilitation charges' or fees for 'diagnostic help' given to physicians who refer patients regularly and for expensive procedures like organ transplants which may reach Rs 1-2 lakh," said Dr Nundy, adding that doctors were confronted by financial officers of hospitals asking them to justify whether they deserved their salaries especially when the revenue they generated for the hospital from investigations and operations fell short of set goals. The "temptation" to do "unnecessary investigations like CT scans and MRI" and "unnecessary procedures like caesarean sections and hyterectomies" was "hard to resist", he added.
Dr MK Mani, chief nephrologist in Apollo Hospital Chennai, told TOI that the practice of doctors getting kickbacks from any expensive operation or diagnostic procedure was pervasive and openly done. "In the case of doctors who have pointedly refused to take such 'cuts', it is given back to the patients as discounts. But hospitals have not stopped this practice and doctors who take such cuts continue to do so. In 1995, I had filed a complaint with the medical council with all the relevant proof and yet the council took no action," said Dr Mani. Dr Mani had been given cheques as "professional charges" by an institution for referring patients for a particular procedure.
He wrote to the medical council stating that the council's guidelines clearly stated that it was not acceptable for medical practitioners to indulge in fee splitting. "It is a common practice for institutions running high tech and high cost investigations and treatments to offer inducements to doctors who refer patients to them for investigation or treatment. I believe this practice is no less reprehensible, and no less detrimental to the interests of the patient," Dr Mani had said in his complaint to the council.
Dr Sanjay Nagral, surgical gastroenterologist in Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai and a member of the editorial board of Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, believes that the widespread practice of cuts is linked to the way the private sector, which has grown to dominate healthcare in India, is vying for the market. In the case of nationalized healthcare, as in the UK, doctors are paid a full time salary so that there is no incentive for them to recommend unnecessary procedures or investigations, Dr Nagral said to TOI.
"Intense competition, intense investment and intense saturation are bound to lead to this situation. It is beyond being just an ethical or moral issue. It is free-for-all medicine with unbridled growth and heavy investment. If you have five CT scan centres within a radius of one kilometer they compete for the same market. In many countries such activity is strictly regulated. Reversing such intense privatization is a political decision but we can have strict deterrence to stop such practices. It has to come from within the profession," said Dr Nagral. more
Rema NagarajanRema Nagarajan,TNN | Jun 28, 2014, 03.22 AM IST
Dr MK Mani, chief nephrologist in Apollo Hospital Chennai, told TOI that the practice of doctors getting kickbacks from any expensive operation or diagnostic procedure was pervasive and openly done.
•
NEW DELHI: Eminent doctors across India are unified in their opinion that doctors play a key role in "the kickbacks and bribes that oil every part of the healthcare machinery".
The debate was sparked by an article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on corruption in the Indian medical practice a couple of months ago followed by an editorial on the same issue in the latest issue of the journal written by Dr Samiran Nundy, one of India's leading gastroenterologists.
Dr Nundy, who is chairman of the department of surgical gastroenterology and organ transplantation at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said corruption was all pervasive in healthcare delivery in India starting with capitation fees for entry into medical colleges.
The editorial, titled "Corruption in Indian Medicine", came out just as the Kokilaben Dhirubai Ambani Hospital (KDAH) in Mumbai acknowledged, in a letter to the Maharashtra Medical Council, that it offered "incentives to doctors" to refer patients to the hospital (first reported in TOI on May 13 with a follow-up on June 15). The complaint before MMC stated that the hospital had been sending out forms to various doctors to enrol in a forum promising a reward of Rs 1 lakh for 40 admissions per annum, Rs 1.5 lakh for 50 admissions and Rs 2.5 lakh for 75 admissions.
A young woman undergoing CT scan. (Getty Images photo)
The article to which Dr Nundy responded was written by an Australian doctor, Dr David Berger, who had volunteered in a small charitable hospital in the Himalayas. He spoke of how reference for an electrocardiogram (ECG) at a private heart clinic or other investigations attracted 10-15% kickback to the referring doctor. "I saw one patient with no apparent structural heart disease and uncomplicated essential hypertension who had been followed up by a city cardiologist with an echocardiogram every three months, a totally unnecessary investigation," said Dr Berger.
"In many of our five-star corporate hospitals, where the main motive seems to be profit for the shareholders, there is an institutionalized system of so called 'facilitation charges' or fees for 'diagnostic help' given to physicians who refer patients regularly and for expensive procedures like organ transplants which may reach Rs 1-2 lakh," said Dr Nundy, adding that doctors were confronted by financial officers of hospitals asking them to justify whether they deserved their salaries especially when the revenue they generated for the hospital from investigations and operations fell short of set goals. The "temptation" to do "unnecessary investigations like CT scans and MRI" and "unnecessary procedures like caesarean sections and hyterectomies" was "hard to resist", he added.
Dr MK Mani, chief nephrologist in Apollo Hospital Chennai, told TOI that the practice of doctors getting kickbacks from any expensive operation or diagnostic procedure was pervasive and openly done. "In the case of doctors who have pointedly refused to take such 'cuts', it is given back to the patients as discounts. But hospitals have not stopped this practice and doctors who take such cuts continue to do so. In 1995, I had filed a complaint with the medical council with all the relevant proof and yet the council took no action," said Dr Mani. Dr Mani had been given cheques as "professional charges" by an institution for referring patients for a particular procedure.
He wrote to the medical council stating that the council's guidelines clearly stated that it was not acceptable for medical practitioners to indulge in fee splitting. "It is a common practice for institutions running high tech and high cost investigations and treatments to offer inducements to doctors who refer patients to them for investigation or treatment. I believe this practice is no less reprehensible, and no less detrimental to the interests of the patient," Dr Mani had said in his complaint to the council.
Dr Sanjay Nagral, surgical gastroenterologist in Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai and a member of the editorial board of Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, believes that the widespread practice of cuts is linked to the way the private sector, which has grown to dominate healthcare in India, is vying for the market. In the case of nationalized healthcare, as in the UK, doctors are paid a full time salary so that there is no incentive for them to recommend unnecessary procedures or investigations, Dr Nagral said to TOI.
"Intense competition, intense investment and intense saturation are bound to lead to this situation. It is beyond being just an ethical or moral issue. It is free-for-all medicine with unbridled growth and heavy investment. If you have five CT scan centres within a radius of one kilometer they compete for the same market. In many countries such activity is strictly regulated. Reversing such intense privatization is a political decision but we can have strict deterrence to stop such practices. It has to come from within the profession," said Dr Nagral. more
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Thanks, Dr. Gosain. In fact, it may be limited only to a small fraction of the professionals. Almost all the medical professionals I have come across are godly and compassionate to their patients. Regards. more
Jun 29
Thanks, Sir. You have raised serious concern of most of us. This issue needs to be considered seriously and improved upon by our regulators. This practice can not be supported from any angle. It will however be appreciated that medical profession is godly profession, the persons in profession are most intelligent and devoted, but they are human beings and are part of our society. They should have been at the top of the ladder economically and socially. It does not happen in India. Thus they are following unethical practice, to reach the level, where professional from other fields are. It may also be difficult to compare medical profession in India and USA. Even otherwise, US medical system is crumbling under its own weight. Besides, US runs on laws whereas in India, law helps to violate legal provisions due to its rotten legal administration/system. As per the news today in HT, Doctors from AIIMS have come forward to do some serious thinking on the issue. Besides, thinking and enforcing rules by concerned Regulators, it is our respected doctors, who have to willingly resolve not to encourage this practice. more
Jun 29
In USA Doctors are sued at the Drop of a hat. Justice is so fast that Doctors Practice License is revoked. They cannot open up Practice any where in USA. There is no malpractice but yes Defensive practice may be there to protect your self against Litigation. Generally Patients are all insured. Poor patients are covered under MediCare by the State. FDA is not controlled by the Drug Companies. The Laws have become very strict regarding accepting any favors from the Drug Company. I have personal knowledge, my son and daughter in law both are Practicing Medical Doctors in USA. India once a Doctor is Registered. The Registration is till death. In USA all Doctors have to periodically take a Refresher Exam to remain Registered. You have to keep updating your knowledge. Most of the Research and Studies are done in USA and then copied by Contries like India. How many Doctors License have been revoked by MCI for Malpractice.? The TOI has openly stated about the Cut Backs and Bribe is the Norm. MCI also will be a party in this sordid affair. I wonder how many Watched Amir Khan Episode about the Malpractice by Indian Doctors and not one License was revoked by the MCI.!! more
Jun 29
