Rural postings to fetch doctors double pay

Doctors willing to work in India's most far flung and inaccessible areas may soon earn double of what their urban counterparts do in a decision borne out of the recognition that cash to the far flung areas.

In order to provide quality healthcare to people in isolated regionsunder the National Rural Health Mission, the health ministry has decided to identify "difficult, most difficult and inaccessible areas, particularly in hilly states, northeastern states and tribal areas" where primary health centres (PHCs) would be set up.

The ministry, through NRHM, will then make funds available for contractual appointments of doctors and paramedical staff and "provide significantly higher monetary incentives based on location of posting".

Even though PHCs are the first port of call for the sick in rural areas, the majority of them have no trained medical personnel.

Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "There has been a significant increase in attendance of out-patients and in-patient cases in PHCs and community health centres (CHCs) under the NRHM. But more needs to be done for remote parts of the country."

He added, "Because of lack of incentives from state governments, no doctor wants to work in the country's most backward areas. We will therefore identify the most isolated areas, pinpoint where the state can set up a PHC and then give them funds to hire doctors on contract."

On the ministry's earlier proposal about making a one-year stint in villages compulsory for all MBBS students, Azad said this could form part of a long-term solution plan being devised by the ministry.

According to an NRHM report earlier, nearly 8% PHCs don't have a doctor while nearly 39% were running without a lab technician and about 17.7% without a pharmacist. To compound the problem, PHCs in some states don't have adequate labour rooms and operation theatres.

The condition of CHCs, supposed to provide specialised medical care, is equally appalling. Out of the sanctioned posts, about 59.4% of surgeons, 45% of obstetricians and gynaecologists, 61.1% of physicians and 53.8% of paediatricians were found to be vacant. Moreover, there was a shortfall of 70.2% specialists at the CHCs.

Azad also promised setting up of a National Council for Human Resources in Health -- an overarching regulatory body that will look to enhance skilled medical personnel.

India is short of 6 lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and 2 lakh dental surgeons because of which it has a dismal patient-doctor ratio. For every 10,000 Indians, there is one doctor.

"One of the major bottlenecks in our efforts to improve the public healthcare system is the overwhelming shortage of specialist doctors and paramedical personnel. We are therefore formulating a scheme for strengthening and upgradation of state government medical colleges to increase post-graduate medical seats in departments where there is critical shortage like gynaecology, anaesthesia and paediatrics," Azad said, while announcing his 100-day agenda for the health sector.

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Bill to prevent attacks on doctors in West Bengal

The West Bengal government wants to make attacks on doctors and medical staff a cognizable and non-bailable offence, attracting a maximum punishment of imprisonment for three years and a fine that may extend to Rs 50,000.


A Bill to this effect, called The West Bengal Medical Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, 2009, was introduced in the Assembly by health minister Surjya Kanta Mishra on Tuesday and sent to the subjects committee for scrutiny.

The legislation was planned in response to the concern of the Indian Medical Association over incidents of violence against medical practitioners. The government wanted to stop violence against doctors, nurses, medical students, nursing students and paramedical staff and damage to property in medical institutions.

By "medicare institution" the Bill meant government, municipal as well as private hospitals, as well as maternity homes.

The Bill as drawn up also incorporated the provision for payment of compensation for damage or loss caused to property in case of violence in hospitals. IMA had requested for legal protection against such violence.

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Medical institutes seeking donation will have licence cancelled: Health Minister

Taking a strong stance against illegal donation or capitation fee being charged by private medical institutes for admission in its MBBS courses, the health ministry said institutes found guilty would be punished in the most severe manner.

Cautioning colleges against taking capitation fees, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said he would use extraordinary powers to cancel their licences if they were found guilty.

He said, "The era of touts who collect money on behalf of colleges and corrupt administration is over. Should I come to know of any medical college or its proprietor having paid money to get files cleared or get permission to increase seats, I will use extraordinary powers to cancel their licences."

Azad also called for surprise checks in colleges by the Medical Council of India to assess standards. "Random checking should become the order. If the institutes know when the team will visit them, they will have everything in place," he said.

A TOI-Times Now expose last month had caught on camera two private medical colleges in Chennai seeking capitation fee for admission to its MBBS courses. Such a fee has been explicitly banned by the Supreme Court.

TOI had earlier exposed how two members of MCI had strong links with the offending institutions.

Two senior officials of MCI -- president Ketan Desai and vice-president P C Kesavankutty Nayar -- are currently board members of Sri Ramachandra University, which demanded Rs 40 lakh from students seeking MBBS admission.


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Virus dogs online PG medical exam in Tamil Nadu

The Directorate of Medical Education (DME) cancelled the online entrance examinations for super-specialty courses in medicine held at Vel Tech Engineering College near Avadi on Sunday following technical errors, including a computer virus attack. The dates for fresh examinations will be announced later, the DME said.

The selection committee had invited more than 500 students to write the DM and MCh entrance tests that went online for the first time. The committee attempted to prepare the students in advance by giving them the compact discs of the exam model explaining about the online test. “For many of us, the CD just did not open because of some virus,” a surgeon, who appeared for the exams, said.

On Sunday, trouble began as soon as students logged in at 10 am. “It said I had already taken the exam. I called for techinical assistance. After some struggle they helped me log in,” said another surgeon. By 11 am, the selection committee announced that the test was cancelled following a “virus attack”.

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Medical colleges offer PG degree with no hospital

The state of affairs pertaining to private medical and dental colleges is getting murkier.

Close on the heels of the capitation fee scam in medical colleges of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court on Friday stumbled upon another blatant violation of rules in permitting private dental colleges to be attached to government hospitals for practicals of PG students.

Counsel for Dental Council of India (DCI) Gaurav Sharma opposed grant of permission to Surendra Dental College and Research Institute to admit students for post-graduation courses on the ground that it had no valid tie-up with a hospital. Since PG courses were more practical-oriented than classroom based, non-attachment to a hospital would jeopardise the standard of education, he said.

To counter this, the college at Sri Ganganagar produced a letter dated May 26, 2009, from the health department of Rajasthan allowing it to be attached to the government hospital in the town "till 2012-13 academic session or till construction of its own hospital".

Sharma pointed out that another private college -- Maharaja Ganga Singh Dental College, Sri Ganganagar -- was permitted by the state government to be attached to the same government hospital. "In the larger public interest, it is not appropriate to attach two dental colleges for the purpose of clinical training with a government hospital as the same would definitely deteriorate the standards of dental education," DCI said.

The Bench, returning the letter to the college's counsel, senior advocate P S Narasimha, said, "Mr Narasimha, we won't pass any order. You see the worth of this letter. It appears as if it is just taken out of the minister's pocket."

The letter, in possession of TOI, was written by a deputy secretary to the Rajasthan government and starts with "I am directed to write..." and ends by forwarding a copy of it to the private secretary of the health minister.

The college, through counsel Bina Madhavan, pointed out to the court that the college satisfied the regulations by being attached to a hospital. It also assailed the decision of DCI not to grant permission to it to admit students for the academic year 2009-10, for which it had already appointed teaching staff.

The Bench refused to accede to the college's request for an immediate inspection of the institute by DCI for infrastructure facilities, including the strength of faculty, and give its report to the Centre for permission to start post-graduate courses.

The court issued notice to the Centre, which sought four weeks time to file a reply. It ordered the matter to be listed two weeks after the Centre has filed its reply so as to allow others to respond to the Union government's stand.

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Supreme Court smells a rat in all-India quota medical admissions

The Supreme Court on Wednesday smelt a rat in the admissions under the 50% all-India quota PG courses in state government-run medical colleges and warned of a detailed probe if students successful in the second round of counselling were not accommodated in specified institutions.

It was the peculiar case of one Ruchika Arora that drew the court's attention to possible irregularities in the admissions to PG courses in the medical and dental colleges in various states under the all-India quota.

After being allotted a seat in the MDS course in Government Dental College in Amritsar in the first round of counselling held by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Arora participated in the second round of counselling and opted for Dental Sciences Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical Univeristy, Lucknow.

On reaching Lucknow, she was informed by the university authorities that there was some communication gap between DGHS and the institution and that there was no seat for her. On returning to Amritsar, where she had deposited the fee, Arora realised that the seat vacated by her had already been filled up. For no fault of her, she is left in the lurch, senior advocate P S Narsimha informed the apex court.

A vacation Bench comprising Justices B Sudershan Reddy and Aftab Alam took strong exception to DGHS's excuse that there was a communication gap and asked it to ensure that she got admission in the Amritsar college.

When the DGHS official present in the court dithered and instructed counsel Naresh Kaushik to seek a direction in this regard to the concerned college, the Bench took exception and said: "It is a clear case for seeking damages. What do you mean by communication gap? Can the government take shelter behind such a plea?"

Then came the stringent warning: "If something happens and the child is deprived of admission, then drastic action will follow. We will reopen the entire admissions and order an inquiry."

As it transpired later, Arora's was not an isolated case regarding "communication gap". Counsel Prasanjit Keshwani told the court that his client Prashant Sadashiv Patil faced a similar fate and sought SC's intervention.

Keshwani said Patil was allotted a seat in MS (general surgery) at Gauhati Medical College after the first round of counselling. However, he decided to take the seat in the Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER) at Kolkata after the extended second round of counselling. Yet, on reaching Kolkata he was told that the all-India quota seats have been filled up because of a "communication gap". The SC decided to hear the case on Thursday.

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China to Chennai is the new route for spurious medicines

Close on the heels of Nigerian authorities unearthing Chinese-made drugs with fake ‘Made in India’ labels, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) here has stumbled upon a racket at Chennai port involving the use of fake labels and invoices to ship spurious Chinese drugs into Indian cities.


The central drug authority has so far traced three consignments of an antibiotic named roxithromycin, a female hormone called progesterone, and anti-ulcer drug cimetidine, which arrived from China in separate batches in the second, third and last week of May.

The tip-off for the interception came from licensed Chinese drug manufacturers, who informed CDSCO that spurious drugs bearing their labels were being smuggled into India. The assistant drug controller (ADC) at Chennai port, Shanthy Gunasekaran, then seized three consignments worth Rs 76 lakh.

The drugs, imported in bulk for use as raw material for formulations, weighed nearly three tonnes. They were intended for two traders in Mumbai and one drug manufacturer in Gujarat. It is not yet known whether the importers were involved in the fraud or whether they were duped by their Chinese suppliers. When TOI spoke to them, one of them admitted having received a notice from the authorities. Another denied knowledge of the incident, but blamed suppliers and middlemen for such incidents.

The first consignment was intercepted at Chennai port in the second week of May 2009. It had 500kg of roxithromycin, valued at Rs 21 lakh. It was sent by Sinobright Development Ltd, a major drug trader in China, to Envee Drugs Pvt Ltd in Kheda district in Gujarat. The consignment carried labels of Zhejiang Zheyuan Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, a licensed Chinese pharma company.

The manufacturer, however, while replying to a communication from the ADC, said the drug seized at Chennai was not produced at its facility. Also, it had not sold roxithromycin in bulk form to Sinobright, the manufacturer clarified. Inquiries revealed that Sinobright was a regular supplier of bulk drugs to Indian firms and had not come under adverse notice earlier.

The second contraband, 400kg of progesterone valued at Rs 40 lakh, reached Chennai port in the third week of May. It was sent by the Hong Kong-based Tiangao International Economic Development Corporation to J B Khokhani and Company, a Mumbai-based trader. A licensed Chinese manufacturer, Zhejiang Shenzhou Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, whose labels were used for it, disowned the drug and clarified that it had no links with the Hong Kong firm.

The third case — 2,000kg of cimetidine worth Rs 15 lakh — was reported in the last week of May. It was a batch imported by Sheetal Pharma of Mumbai from Zhejiang Chemicals Import and Export Corporation in China. Jiangxi Juermei Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd in China, which was supposed to have manufactured it, said that it was not their product.

Apparently, in all three cases, traders in China had sourced spurious drugs and sent them to India, said a senior official in CDSCO.

Drugs can be imported only through the Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nhava Sheva, Kochi and Kandla ports and six airports — Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

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Obama ask doctors to reform America's health care system

US President Barack Obama today asked the country's largest doctors' group to help him reform America's expensive health care system, making it affordable for millions of uninsured Americans, as he likened the escalating health care costs to a time bomb that may make the country go "broke".


"I need your help doctors. To most Americans, you are the health care system. Americans 'me included' just do what you recommend. That is why I will listen to you and work with you to pursue reform that works for you," Obama said here at the annual meeting of the influential American Medical Association (AMA), which represents a quarter of a million doctors.

He said if they work together, they will be able to bring spending down, quality up and save hundreds of billions of dollars on health care costs while making the nation's health care system work better for patients and doctors alike.

Obama's nearly hour-long speech to about 2,200 AMA members and guests received numerous standing ovations and was booed once. Terming the escalating cost of health care "a threat to our economy", Obama said the cost is a burden on US families and businesses.

"It is a ticking time-bomb for the federal budget. And it is unsustainable for the United States of America. If we do not fix our health care system, America may go the way of GM, paying more, getting less and going broke".

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Indian-American doctors pledge to improve India's health care

Indian-American physicians pledged here to work to improve the health care system in India by entering into partnership with their counterparts in the country and its government, which they said would be their contribution to their motherland.


The Indian-American doctors, who participated the 27th annual convention of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) yesterday, said it is time that they make their collective efforts to ensure that basic health care facilities - the best of the world - is accessible and affordable to the poorest of the poor in the country.

Even as some of them shared some of their bitter experiences of trying to launch various projects in this regard in India, AAPI leaders said they were determined to work in this regard despite hurdles.

The leaders said they would vigorously pursue the annual Indo-US Health Care summit they had launched two years ago to channelise their efforts to this effect.

"India is a very difficult place to work, because it takes a long time," acknowledged Dr Navin Shah, a former AAPI president.

Sharing his own experience of trying to implement projects related to infectious diseases and trauma care, Shah asked his fellow Indian American physicians to have patience in their endeavour.

"Put the best of America there. Let us do major thing. It is not difficult. Persistence and of course, contacts, and dedication is important. Whether it is AAPI or individual, let's pull all together, and do something good for our motherland," Dr Shah said.

The incoming AAPI president, Dr Vinod Shah, who is running a few health care projects in Gujarat said there is desire among the Indian-American doctors to "give back" what they have achieved here.

"If we communicate, take steps and re-energise and take town after town, village after village, I think we can do very meaningful work back home," he said.

Observing that the back home Indian health care system or Indian doctors usually have negative approach to any foreign doctor or foreign health system, another physician urged AAPI to take the lead in reforming medical education in India, including residency program.

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Options to pursue medicine

Don't be disheartened if you fail to get admission into a medical college. There are ample options of making a successful career in medicine-related and health science fields with degree and diploma courses in other pathies like ayurveda, homoeopathy, unani and siddha medicine, pharmacy, nursing, occupational and physiotherapy and of course the BDS degree (bachelor in dental surgery) besides a bunch of diploma and certificate courses in various health subjects like accupressure and acupuncture.


Admissions of most of these courses can be had through the Maharashtra State-Common Entrance Examination (MHT-CET) in government colleges. "The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), Nashik offers a host of degree and diploma courses in various pathies, nursing etc. Even some local universities also run a number of technical courses related to medicine. And mind you there is enough demand and job opportunities for technicians. In fact, there is shortage of such skilled professionals," says Dr Mridula Phadke, Vice-Chancellor, MUHS.

Dr Deepti Donganokar, dean, Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) describing the prospects of other courses in medicine said, "Very few students know the entire list of courses that are available to them after the HSSC examination in both government as well as private institutions. Even Nagpur University offers some courses like that of optician, lab technician, physicist (who decide the medicine dose for chemotherapy during cancer treatment) which few students are aware of".

After MBBS and BDS degrees, the most sought-after course is four- year degree course in nursing (B.Sc nursing) where admissions are available on merit basis in MHT-CET. Besides the degree course, students can opt for the general midwifery (GNM) and General Nursing courses. "Nursing has become a very specialised and demanding course. Nurses can now specialise in subjects like cardiothoracic, paediatrics, public health, cancer, neo-natology which have lot of job opportunities especially in private sector," said Sanjay Patil, senior teacher nursing in College of Nursing, GMCH. Although students from other streams can also seek admissions to GNM course, the seats get filled mainly by science students. Some other courses include courses in subjects like oral hygiene, nutrition, dietary and some entrepreneurship courses like artificial limb making, optometry, audiometry etc.

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Medical bills underlie 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies: study

Medical bills are behind more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday in a report they said demonstrates that healthcare reform is on the wrong track.

More than 75 percent of these bankrupt families had health insurance but still were overwhelmed by their medical debts, the team at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School and Ohio University reported in the American Journal of Medicine.

"Unless you're Warren Buffett, your family is just one serious illness away from bankruptcy," Harvard's Dr. David Himmelstein, an advocate for a single-payer health insurance program for the United States, said in a statement.

"For middle-class Americans, health insurance offers little protection," he added.

The United States is embarking on an overhaul of its healthcare system, now a patchwork of public programs such as Medicare for the elderly and disabled and employer-sponsored health insurance that leaves 15 percent of the population with no coverage.

The researchers and some consumer advocates said the study showed the proposals under the most serious consideration are unlikely to help many Americans. They are pressing for a so-called single payer plan, in which one agency, usually the government, coordinates health coverage.

"Expanding private insurance and calling it health reform will fail to prevent financial catastrophe for hundreds of thousands of Americans every year," Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the Health Research Group at Public Citizen said in a statement.

About 170 million people get health insurance through an employer but President Barack Obama says soaring healthcare costs hurt the economy and force businesses to drop medical insurance for their workers.

"Nationally, a quarter of firms cancel coverage immediately when an employee suffers a disabling illness; another quarter do so within a year," the report reads.

Obama told Congress on Wednesday he was open to making mandatory health insurance part of the overhaul.

Neither Congress nor Obama are considering the kind of single-payer plan advocated by Public Citizen, Himmelstein and his colleague Dr. Steffie Woolhandler.

"We need to rethink health reform," Woolhandler said. "Covering the uninsured isn't enough.

"Only single-payer national health insurance can make universal, comprehensive coverage affordable by saving the hundreds of billions we now waste on insurance overhead and bureaucracy."

The researchers studied 2,134 random families who filed for bankruptcy between January and April in 2007, before the current recession began.

They used public bankruptcy court records and surveyed 1,032 people by telephone.

"Using a conservative definition, 62.1 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92 percent of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5,000, or 10 percent of pretax family income," the researchers

"Most medical debtors were well-educated, owned homes and had middle-class occupations."

The researchers, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said the share of bankruptcies that could be blamed on medical problems rose by 50 percent from 2001 to 2007.

Patients with multiple sclerosis paid a mean of $34,167 out of pocket in 2007, diabetics paid $26,971, and those with injuries paid $25,096, the researchers found.

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Want information on hospitals, doctors? Log in

With the aim of providing easy information on doctors, hospitals and health related issues in Delhi and Mumbai, a health portal - www.justhealth.in - was launched here on Thursday.

Prepared by Imarketing Advantage, an Internet-based marketing firm, the portal will have comprehensive health information and can provide free information about doctors with different specialisations, hospitals and other health related issues in their cities.

The main objective of this website is to allow users to make an "informed choice" by helping them to view details of the doctors and the hospitals before they visit them.

The health portal is linked to 100,000 doctors across India and has a database on hospitals and health service providers.

Nitin Dhawan, chief executive officer, iMarketing Advantage, said: "In the initial phase, www.justhealth.in services will be available for Delhi and Mumbai users only. However, over the next couple of months, the services will be activated for other cities also. We will be a national service over a period of one year."

According to Mr. Dhawan, with more and more people relying on the Internet, the portal will even provide services like online appointment scheduling and personal health record tracking.

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Transfusion of wrong blood group is medical negligence

The Supreme Court has held that transfusion of wrong blood group to a patient amounted to medical negligence.

A Bench consisting of Justices D.K. Jain and R.M. Lodha said: “The law takes no cognisance of carelessness in the abstract. It concerns itself with carelessness only where there is a duty to take care and where failure in that duty has caused damage. In such circumstances carelessness assumes the legal quality of negligence and entails the consequences in law of negligence.”

The Bench upheld compensation of Rs. 2 lakh ordered by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and confirmed by the National Commission to the husband and children of a woman who died due to transfusion of wrong blood group at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.

Writing the judgment, Justice Lodha said that “with regard to professional negligence, it is now well settled that a professional may be held liable for negligence if he was not possessed of the requisite skill which he professed to have possessed or, he did not exercise, with reasonable competence in the given case the skill which he did possess.”

The Bench said “it is equally well settled that the standard to be applied for judging, whether the person charged has been negligent or not, would be that of an ordinary person exercising skill in that profession. It is not necessary for every professional to possess the highest level of expertise in that branch which he practises.”

In the instant case Harjit Kaur was admitted to the PGIMER on April 19, 1996 for treatment of burn injuries. On May 15, she was transfused with A+ blood which was her blood group.

However during the second blood transfusion on May 20, she was transfused with B+ blood group, instead of A+. Her condition started deteriorating and it transpired that due to transfusion of mismatched blood, the kidney and liver got damaged. She died on July 1, 1996.

On a complaint from her husband Jaspal Singh, the State Commission held that the death was due to medical negligence and awarded Rs. 2 lakh compensation. On appeal by the PGIMER, the National Commission confirmed the award and the present appeal by the Institute was against that order.

The appellant contended that Harjit Kaur died of septicemia and not by mismatched blood transfusion and sought quashing of the National Commission’s order.

Appeal dismissed
Dismissing the appeal and upholding the award with Rs. 20,000 costs, the Bench said: “Although she [Mrs. Kaur] survived for about 40 days after mismatched blood transfusion it cannot be said that there was no causal link between the mismatched transfusion of blood and her death. Wrong blood transfusion is an error which no hospital/doctor exercising ordinary care would have made. Such an error is not an error of professional judgment but in the very nature of things a sure instance of medical negligence. The hospital’s breach of duty in mismatched blood transfusion contributed to her death, if not wholly, but surely materially. Mismatched blood transfusion to a patient having sustained 50 per cent burns by itself speaks of negligence.”

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HRD Ministry, TN issue notice to 'Seat for Sale Scam' colleges

Two days after the TOI-Times Now expose on malpractices and misuse of autonomy by medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, the HRD ministry on Thursday issued notice to them asking why their deemed university status should not be withdrawn and action be taken under law.

Tamil Nadu's health department also issued notice to the two deemed universities asking why criminal action be not initiated against them for demanding capitiation fee — in the form of cash — from students seeking admissions for the MBBS course.

itimes: Share your experience on seat-for-sale scam

The HRD ministry and TN government notices were issued to Sri Ramachandra University and Bharath University of which Shree Balaji Medical College is a constituent unit.

Though the website of Bharath University names Union minister of state S Jagathrakshakan as the chancellor, the minister has denied any links to the college.

The HRD notice came after it went through the transcript and tapes of the sting operation. The ministry had written a detailed letter to the UGC asking if these two institutions had followed National Assessment and Accredition Council (NAAC) and National Board of Accredition (NBA) guidelines when the accreditation was given.

HRD ministry sources clarified that in case the deemed university status is withdrawn, the students will not suffer since the college will automatically become part of the university it was affiliated to earlier.

The TN notices, according to state health secretary V K Subburaj, asks the deans of the two institutions to send their replies immediately. "If we don't receive a reply within a week, we would give them a deadline of two or three days more and if they continue to remain silent, we would have to conclude that they have admitted that they are guilty of taking capitation fee," a senior health department official said.

Taking a holistic view of the malaise in the functioning of deemed universities, HRD minister Kapil Sibal used the opportunity to come down heavily on UGC and directed that all pending proposals should be held in abeyance till a thorough review of the functioning of the existing deemed universities is undertaken. UGC has been asked to review and report the deficiencies within three months with respect to academic standards, availability of qualified faculty, admission process and infrastructure.

Sources said Sibal might have to change his decision of letting UGC review the functioning of deemed universities, the reason being that it is the UGC that has in the past five years given such status to 120 private educational institutions. "How can UGC review its own decision," an official said. Many of them are mired in controversy with allegations of high level corruption.

In fact, Sibal's directive came as a shock to UGC which had invited him on Thursday to attend the full commission meeting. As UGC was gearing up to receive the minister — even getting a pashmina shawl for him — Sibal excused himself. In fact, the agenda of UGC meeting had a proposal for granting deemed university status to eight institutions. But in minister's absence UGC did not take up the matter on the ground that HRD ministry has instructed not to grant deemed university status.

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Doctors booked under Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act continue medical practice

Following a sting operation led by Chief District Health Officer (CDHO) Vaidya, the health department on Tuesday trapped Dr Kaushik Shah, a radiologist from Ahmedabad, and his two staffers under the Pre-Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act.

Dr Shah is the fourth in the line with DN Prajapati in Palanpur, Harshad Thakkar in Ahmedabad and Bharat Bhope in Rajkot having been booked earlier under the Act.


An FIR was lodged on Wednesday and the two mediators in the case, Vijay Goswami and Paresh Shah, were arrested by the police on Thursday. Maninagar Police Inspector, PJ Trivedi, said, “We have arrested the duo on Thursday night. The doctor is presently absconding and could not be arrested as he got a day’s time as the FIR was lodged a day after the sting operation.”

Meanwhile, even as the government tasted some success by securing a Supreme Court stay in the case of Dr Harshad Thakkar against his application to allow him to sell off his sonography machine; in all the three previous cases though their machines have been sealed, the doctors have not been restricted from practising in the absence of any regulation.

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Supreme Court ticks off doctors for medical negligent cases

The Supreme Court on Friday ticked off doctors for increasing number of medical negligence cases being reported in the country.

"Doctors can today do anything. They can leave behind a forcep or a scissor inside a patient's stomach and get away with it.


"Six months down the line when the patient develops pain and comes back, then you would discover the scissor left behind in the stomach and then remove it," a vacation bench of Justices Markandeya Katju and Deepak Verma remarked.

The bench made the remarks while issuing notice to Pintoo Kumar, a victim, on the petition filed by Dr Mahendra Prasad, a doctor who was slapped with a compensation of Rs 4 lakhs by the Bihar State Consumer Commission in a case of alleged medical negligence.

Mr. Kumar had alleged Prasad, a private medical practioner at the Neha Nursing Home, Buxar who had performed an operation on September 16, 2004, to set right a fracture in his right leg, left behind a screw in the operated portion. The alleged negligence resulted in the patient developing "callus formation" warranting another surgery at the Apollo hospital.

According to the victim, Dr. Prasad was not an orthopaedic surgeon but an MBBS with M.S (patho) and yet peformed the operation.

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‘Better to stop practising medicine than be sued for Medical Negligence’

The Honourable Supreme Court recently decided to grant a compensation of Rs 1 crore to a victim of medical negligence. While the verdict is laudable from a consumer’s point of view, the magnitude of the compensation needs to be debated dispassionately. Can we afford the luxury of compensations in crores in a country like ours?


The high compensation gives de facto legitimacy to claims of multiple crores for all cases pertaining to medical negligence.

The exorbitant medical costs in the USA explain why the American health system is failing and medical tourism to India is picking up. The costs are bolstered by ambulances chasing attorneys who have ensured that doctors cover all risks for patients for any treatment undertaken.

The Professional Indemnity Insurance, which most hospitals and doctors take for Rs 10 lakh will now need to be increased to at least Rs 1 crore. Again, there is no guarantee that the next judgment will not permit a compensation of Rs 10 crore. What then should be the tentative amount for a surgeon to insure himself with?

While this is a good business for insurance companies and the legal fraternity, who will ultimately will pay for this? Surprisingly, in cases of death due to accident caused by an inebriated state roadways bus driver, the government and the judiciary consider a compensation of about Rs 2 lakh.

Will the government, henceforth, award Rs 1 crore compensations to all those who fall victims to negligence on part of a government employee?

While corporate hospitals may not be affected by the high compensations, the average doctor has, however, been rendered a death blow by the judiciary.

As a doctor with 25 years standing, it makes more financial sense for me to stop medical practice rather than expose myself to being sued in crores and risk my lifetime savings.

Applying a common yardstick of accountability to all can help bridge the discrimination between professions.

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Now health insurance till 65 years

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is ramping up norms for health insurance products. In its latest directive, the insurance regulator has directed that health insurance policies must allow insurance cover to all people at least till the age of 65 years.

From July 1, no company will be able to deny health cover to a senior citizen without furnishing a documented reasoning. “Any proposal for health insurance of senior citizens, which are denied on any grounds, should be made in writing with reasons furnished and recorded. Such reasons should stand the scrutiny of reasonableness and fairness,” the circular said.

Besides, companies will not be able to charge exorbitant premium rates for senior citizens as well. The IRDA has said that the premium rates should be fair, justified, transparent and duly disclosed upfront. The details of any loading charged must also be made available to the insured.

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U.S. health system discourages innovation

Countless workers in the United States are trapped in jobs they would like to leave because they cannot get health insurance elsewhere, calcifying innovation and mobility in the world's largest economy.

Daunted by health-care costs, a would-be technology entrepreneur in Texas decides not to start her own business. A communications expert in Washington decides not to strike out on his own. And a freelance magazine editor in Brooklyn decides to take a less satisfying corporate job.

"I would rather be freelancing, no question," said Jessica Tolliver, a former editor who now works in public relations. "I got my work done in less time, because once I finished what I had to do, the time was my own."

Economists call this phenomenon "job lock," and studies suggest that it keeps between 20 percent and 50 percent of workers from leaving their current jobs.

Because health insurance is tied to employment in the United States, workers who leave their jobs can see health bills skyrocket if they strike out on their own or take a position with a company that offers fewer benefits. Workers who would like to retire early stay on, unable to qualify for the government's Medicare program until they turn 65.

And those who have existing health problems may not be able to get coverage at all.

Job lock is difficult to measure because many employees don't like to advertise their unhappiness. But economists and small-business advocates say it takes an enormous toll on productivity.

"We can definitely say that it's slowing down the rate of innovation," said Tim Kane, an economist with the Kauffman Foundation which promoted entrepreneurship.

For Mike, a Washington-based communications professional who did not want to use his last name, health costs may force him to pass up the chance to be his own boss at a time when he could easily pick up several major clients.

With two children at home, Mike said he was reluctant to abandon the generous benefits he gets at the trade group where he currently works. Self-employment would probably mean spending more for fewer benefits.

"I don't want a bad event to knock me and my family out of the box," he said. "It's a real hurdle."

As head of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Todd Stottlemeyer frequently encountered would-be entrepreneurs who let their ideas go stale and their products languish on the workbench because they did not want to shoulder their own health care costs.

When he asked audiences if health insurance has affected their employment decisions, often half the hands in the room would go up.

"There are lots of factors that go into why somebody starts a business or doesn't start a business: Do I have a good idea, do I have capital, do I have risk tolerance?," said Stottlemeyer, now an executive at a hospital chain. "Being able to get health insurance ... should not be one of those determinant factors."

Making insurance more affordable for the self-employed could lead to a wave of new businesses, one study suggests.

New Jersey saw a 14 to 20 percent rise in entrepreneurial activity due to a 1993 law making it easier for the self-employed to afford health insurance, a study by Philip DeCicca of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario found.

Roughly 60 percent of the U.S. population now gets its health coverage through work, but the system is increasingly strained due to rising costs.

Congress is working to overhaul the troubled system. The Democratic majority hopes to pass a law which President Barack Obama can sign by the end of the year. However, employer-based care is likely to remain a bedrock of any new approach.

The link between healthcare and jobs evolved during World War II, when the government imposed wage controls but allowed companies to adopt health-insurance plans to lure employees.

Small-business groups have often complained this unfairly tilts the playing field toward large employers that have the clout to negotiate rates that are 18 percent lower on average, according to the Commonwealth Fund.

Consequently, workers at small firms are much less likely to have health insurance. While 99 percent of companies that employ more than 200 employees offer health coverage, only 49 percent of companies that employ between 3 and 9 workers do so, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Part-time workers are also less likely to get benefits than full-time employees, according to Kaiser.

Self-employed workers face a further disadvantage because they cannot deduct health-insurance payments from their income taxes, unlike companies that maintain a payroll.

As a freelancer, Tolliver could work from wherever she and take playground breaks with her daughters. But a $1,200 monthly healthcare bill ultimately led her to take a job where insurance only costs her $200 per month.

"It would be obnoxious to say were struggling to put food on the table. But that said, it was a lot of money."

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Supreme Court stays surrender of PG medical seats

Chances of meritorious students getting a fresh crack at reputed government medical colleges brightened on Thursday with the Supreme Court staying the surrender of all-India quota PG medical seats to the states.

Petitioners pointed out that several states, who contribute to the All-India Quota PG seats' pool, filled through an open entrance examination, deliberately delayed intimating the number of vacancies in government medical colleges to the Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) and for years have been cornering them for those who had cleared the state entrance test.

A vacation Bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Deepak Verma stayed the surrender of the all-India quota PG seats to the state governments till May 26. The surrender was to take place on Friday, as per the schedule, since DGHS has already conducted the second counselling. It is now likely that DGHS would have to conduct an extended second counselling to fill as many all-India quota PG seats.

There were over 3,000 PG seats under the 50% all-India quota open to competition sans reservation till the 2006-07 academic session. However, the apex court had last year introduced SC/ST quota in it. With this, the number of seats for general category, including OBCs, will stand reduced to around 2,300 and nearly 700 seats will go to SCs and STs.

On a 1985 order of the court, 25% post-graduation seats in medical colleges were culled out for the open all-India competition from the academic year 1987-88 solely on the basis of merit and sans any reservation for socially weaker sections. PG seats under the all-India quota was increased from 25% to 50% by the apex court in 2003.

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