Published On : Sat, Oct 10th, 2015

Docs sell their names for Path Labs in Nagpur, No expert at 700 units

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Nagpur: Some doctors seem to have forgotten the Hippocratic-oath which they take when they pass out from the Medical College. They also seem to have forgotten that in countries like India, we practically regard them as next to God because of their talent or capacity to heal patients. One such shocking report has come to fore in Nagpur city.Sources claimed that there are around 700 dubious Pathology Laboratories in the city. What is shocking is that these Laboratories undertake and carryout all the tests and give a report on their letter-head with the signatures of the Doctors with qualifications of Doctor of Medicine or MD (Path) too. Sources claimed that many of these doctors who are MD (Path) lend their names to as many as minimum 2 and maximum 10 such Pathology Laboratories.

Who run these Pathology Laboratories?
People with money to invest in a place and basic diagnostic equipments run these Pathology Laboratories. They hire young people with a diploma called Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (DMLT). These youngsters carry-out these tests and give the reports of the diagnostic tests which have signatures of the Doctors affixed before any report can be even typed on it.

Why do the doctors then lend their names to these Laboratories?
The owners or the technicians who run the Pathology Laboratories earn money in the name of the doctors. They fix the charges of these doctors based on their reputation and seniority. Sources claimed that these doctors make money ranging from as much as Rs 5000/- per month to Rs 20,000/- per month. Whenever any problem arises the doctor comes to the clinic to answer the questions.

Who fixes the charges?
Charges vary from person to person and from area to area. The charges for diagnostic tests are decided by the Microbiologists’ Association and the Pathologists’ Association. They give a ready reckoner and the Pathologists are free to charge any amount above that. If asked they will readily claim that their Laboratory is the best and that they give the precise reports. A simple Thyroid Profile costs only Rs 450/- But these dubious Pathology Laboratories charge as highas Rs 600/- to Rs 1200/-.

How reliable are their reports?
There are some Harmonal studies or diagnostic tests. These specialized tests have to be conducted only by Specialized Pathology Laboratories. These Pathology Laboratories which are equipped with some of the most sophisticated equipments and are of International Standards. Around 10 such Pathology Laboratories exist in the city. They are as follows

  1. Path-Care Labs Private Limited
  2. SRL Diagnostics Private Limited
  3. I-Genetics Diagnostics Private Limited
  4. BSR Labs Private Limited
  5. Medsis Labs Private Limited
  6. Lal Path Labs Private Limited and around 3-4 more.

These are the only Pathology Laboratories which are authorized to give some of these specialized test reports on their letter-heads. Diagnostic Tests like the following are regarded as specialized ones which are as follows:

  1. Thyroid Profile
  2. CD-3 Counts, CD-4 Counts, CD-8 Counts,
  3. DNA Tests, RNA Tests,
  4. AMH Profile,
  5. Double Marker, Triple Marker and Quadruple Marker tests etc

These 10 Pathology Laboratories can handle any of these specialized diagnostic tests and give a report of the test results to the patients on their letter head. These Pathology Laboratories have their own doctors who are specialized in carrying out diagnostic tests (MD-Path) and are present in the laboratories everyday from morning to evening. These Pathology Laboratories are equipped with highly sophisticated machines and equipments which are huge (10X10 square feet) and cost as much as 40-45 lakhs. However these small Pathology Laboratories which are sometimes run in a space of 10 X 10 feet claim to be equipped with sophisticated equipments and give reports on their letter head of these specialized diagnostic tests too. The tests reports are often erroneous and whenever checked from some other Pathology Laboratories one can always find discrepancies. This is cheating of the citizens of Nagpur. This is also playing with the lives of the citizens by erroneous reports.

Nagpur Today spoke to the President of Indian Medical Association Dr Ajay Kate. He was appalled at what he heard. He claimed that he was not aware that such a fraudulent activity is going in the city. He claimed that he will certainly find out if such a large scale defrauding is being carried out and if he finds that to be true, he will certainly initiate action against such dubious Pathology Laboratories.

– Samuel Gunasekharan