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Fleecing patients in the name of diagnostic tests
Touts of private diagnostic centres are ruling the roost at major government hospitals in the State. As Gandhi, Osmania and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) are not fully equipped with sophisticated diagnostic equipment, the hapless poor patients are forced to wait for more than two weeks and sometimes months to undergo medical tests.
Hyderabad: Touts of private diagnostic centres are ruling the roost at major government hospitals in the State. As Gandhi, Osmania and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) are not fully equipped with sophisticated diagnostic equipment, the hapless poor patients are forced to wait for more than two weeks and sometimes months to undergo medical tests.
The conduct of medical tests is sometimes getting delayed due to lack of adequate paramedical staff and patient pressure. As medical test is key to diagnose the ailments, patients are forced to suffer without any medical care till the outcome of the results.
In the meantime, the ailment gets aggravated and in some cases it may prove fatal. There are instances when a simple X-Ray took a number of days at government hospitals. In the grave scenario, the poor patients are left with no alternative excepting going to the private diagnostic centres located in the vicinity of government hospitals though they cannot afford to bear the charges of medical tests.
In some cases, some government hospital doctors directly refer the patients to the private diagnostic centres for medical tests for vested reasons. At this juncture, touts and middlemen enter the scene. They approach the patients and take them to the private diagnostic centres by promising to get the medical tests conducted at affordable rates.
If the poor and ignorant patients fall in the trap, they have to shell out huge amount of money. It is nothing but fleecing the poor in the name of diagnostic tests. Gandhi and Osmania hospitals get about 2,000 to 3,000 patients a day from far off places in the State.
On an average, 200 to 300 surgeries are performed a day at the government hospitals. The patient pressure on NIMS is also high though it is a 1,500-bed super specialty hospital. Though precious time is lost in the conduct of diagnostic tests at government hospitals posing a grave threat to patients, no steps have been taken to speed up the process of diagnosis.
The State government sanctioned more than Rs 500 crore to Gandhi, Osmania and NIMS for acquisition of sophisticated diagnostic equipment. But the hospitals are yet to get the much needed equipment affecting the speedy conduct of medical tests.
Speaking to The Hans India, Dr SV Masood, Deputy Superintendent of Gandhi Hospital, admitted delay in conduct of diagnostic tests at the hospital. The hospital has one MRI scan and one CT scan. A proposal was submitted for one more MRI scan and CT scan. Lack of adequate number of technicians was also contributing to the delay in conduct of diagnostic tests.
Despite the impediments, about 90 per cent of diagnostic tests are being conducted at Gandhi Hospital. Only 10 per cent of medical tests are being referred to private diagnostic centres, Dr Masood said.
Dr Usha Rani, RMO of Niloufer Hospital, said “We have only CT scan at the hospital. For MRI scan, we are referring patients to Osmania Hospital or MNJ Hospital. One has to wait for a minimum of one week to get the diagnostic reports.”
NIMS Director Dr Manohar said “At present, we have only one MRI scan and one CT scan. We placed orders for one more MRI scan and CT scan. It takes four days to one week time to get diagnostic reports due to the patient pressure. We are likely to get the advanced diagnostic equipment in a couple of months, which helps speed up the process of conduct of medical tests.’’
Same is the case with Osmania Hospital, which is expected to get one more MRI scan and CT scan soon as orders in this regard were placed. The 9-year-old existing equipment is developing snags frequently affecting the conduct of diagnostic tests, said the hospital Superintendent.
Underlining the importance of medical tests in diagnosis of an ailment, Dr KS Ratnakar, lab services expert, said, “The government should focus on acquisition of sophisticated diagnostic equipment to reduce the waiting time for critical tests at the state-run hospitals. The critical area in provision of quality medical care to poor patients should not be neglected further.”
Dr Prabhukumar Challagali is also of the view that the charges of diagnostic tests need to be regulated in the larger interests of poor patients. Quality medical care can be made affordable to all in the State when only diagnostic charges are regulated, he said.
