Unnecessary surgeries, jacked up bills: Docs reveal all

In what may be the first systemic documentation of the maladies in the Indian private healthcare sector, 78 doctors have shared their experiences in a report on how corporate hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry call the shots at the cost of hapless patients.

The narrative they recounted range from unnecessary angioplasty that fetches a commission of Rs 30,000-40,000 for a doctor to fake cataract surgery, needless pathological tests and jacking up the chemotherapy bills from Rs 25,000 to Rs 65,000, taking advantage of the helplessness of a cancer patient.

 A pathologist said that of the 150 doctors he contacted only 3-4 were willing to refer patients for investigations without kickbacks. “I am able to manage only because I have other sources of livelihood,” he said.

 The 78 doctors interviewed in the report are from Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nashik, Pune and other smaller towns.  As many as 53 have more than 30 years of experience while 16 of them spent 20-30 years in the medical profession. Only two have less than 10 years of experience.

 “Sometimes we tell our patients that cancer has spread extensively and hence an operation is not possible. There is no further cure that can be attempted. Then the patient goes to a private facility. There they do some smooth talking, play on the emotions of the family and perform an operation, which is certain to fail – and thus make a lot of money,” L R Murmu, professor of surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences was quoted in the report.

 Last week, an abridged English version of the report – originally written in Marathi – was released. A detailed version is expected in October. One of the authors wrote an article in the British Medical Journal and received both bouquet and brickbats on the methods and findings.

 “My methodology may not be correct but I don’t believe a random sampling method would have resulted in any different outcome. Fifty three doctors have more than 30 years of experience. They have nothing to fear,” lead author Arun Gadre, who practised gynaecology for two decades in Lasalgaon in western Maharashtra told Deccan Herald.
 The report comes in the wake of the Central government’s new draft health policy where additional emphasis has been given on private medical sector for providing healthcare. The Clinical Establishment Act, 2010, for regulating the private healthcare sector, has found few takers among the states.

 Paying money does not guarantee good healthcare as the private healthcare system largely treats patients as revenue generators, without rationality or medical logic, says the report titled “Voices of Conscience from the Medical Profession.”

 Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International claimed that the Indian healthcare sector is the second most corrupt organisation that an ordinary citizen has to encounter and only next to the police force.