Health Corruption
Can we please have discussion on health corruption in India. Everyone please report issues that you know of. If you don't, read the article from David Berger below please.
Kickbacks and bribes oil every part of the country’s healthcare machinery, writes David Berger. If India’s authorities cannot make improvements, international agencies should act
“The corruption strangles everything, Sir. It’s like a cancer.” Accompanied by apologetic shrugs and half smiles, statements like this are commonly heard in India. I knew this was the case before I went to work as a volunteer physician in a small charitable hospital in the Himalayas, but what I didn’t realise was how far the corruption permeates the world of medicine and the corrosive effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship.
Although the causes and effects of corruption are complex, a few strands can be teased out. The healthcare system itself is a model of inequity; it is one of the most privatised in the world, with out of pocket expenditure on healthcare at more than 70%, far higher even than in the United States.1 This phenomenon is at least partly the result of the neoliberal World Bank policies of the 1990s, which mandated a reduction in public financing of healthcare, fuelling growth of the private sector.2 The latest in technological medicine is available to people who can pay, albeit at a high price, but the vast underclass, 800 million people or more, has little or no access to healthcare, and what access it does have is mostly to limited substandard government care or to quacks, who seem to operate with near impunity. There is one leveller, however: corruption is rife at all levels, from the richest to the poorest.
One day in the outpatient department I was writing a request for an exercise electrocardiogram at a private heart clinic when the devout young resident consulting beside me said, “Give me that. I have to sign it.” Perplexed, I handed it over, and the story unfolded: all investigations attract a 10-15% kickback to the referring doctor. One day, the marketing executive for this clinic had turned up at the hospital with an envelope full of cash—the commission for investigations ordered in the past few months. The senior doctor refused it and stipulated that in future the commission was to be paid back to patients, which is why the resident had to sign the form. The country’s doctors and medical institutions live in an “unvirtuous circle” of referral and kickback that poisons their integrity and destroys any chance of a trusting relationship with their patients.
Given these practices, it is no surprise that investigations and procedures are abused as a means of milking patients. 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. A senior doctor in another hospital a couple of hours away was renowned for using ultrasonography as a profligate, revenue earning procedure, charging desperately poor people Rs1000 (£10; €12; $17) each time. Everyone who works in healthcare in India knows this kind of thing is widespread.
There is also widespread corruption in the pharmaceutical industry, with doctors bribed to prescribe particular drugs. Tales are common of hospital directors being given top of the range cars and other inducements when their hospitals sign contracts to prescribe particular antibiotics preferentially.
I met a former pharmaceutical sales executive who left the industry, sickened by the corrupt practices he was supposed to employ. Working for one of the largest drug companies in the country, he was expected to bribe doctors with money and luxury goods. The crunch came when a doctor demanded that the company fly him to Thailand for a holiday and then provide him with prostitutes at his home. When the company representative queried this, his manager told him to comply, and he felt he had no choice but to resign, protesting that he was “not a pimp.”
It is no wonder, therefore, that a common complaint I heard from poor and middle class people is that they don’t trust their doctors. They don’t trust them to be competent or to be honest, and they live in fear of having to consult them, which results in high levels of doctor shopping.
Lack of trust in doctors, and the costs associated with going to see them, mean many patients rely on pharmacists, who seem to have a similar lack of ethics, selling inappropriate drugs over the counter at exorbitant prices to people who often have to borrow the money to pay for them.
Endemic corruption extends to medical studies themselves. In another “unvirtuous circle,” students can have to pay very large “donations” (perhaps $200 000 or more, some 20 times the average doctor’s annual salary) to get into the rapidly increasing number of private medical colleges and to get on to sought after postgraduate training schemes. This means that doctors can have high levels of debt or family obligation when qualifying, which is a strong incentive against working as generalists in rural areas and favours them practising technological medicine for maximum profit in urban areas to try to recoup their investment.
Many Indian doctors have huge expertise, and many are honourable and treat their patients well, but as a group, doctors have a poor reputation. Until the profession is prepared to tackle this head-on and acknowledge the corrosive effects of its corruption then the doctor-patient relationship will continue to lie in tatters.
The arrest on bribery allegations in 2010 of the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) president Ketan Desai,3 and the subsequent dissolution of the council by the president of India,4 were indicative of the crisis in probity among the Indian medical profession. Subsequently, there has been controversy over the surprise removal, on the day India was declared polio-free, of the health secretary Keshav Desirajus, possibly in response to his resistance to moves to reappoint Desai to the reconstituted MCI.5 6
Medicine has globally accepted standards of conduct. The Indian profession should want to adhere and be held accountable to these. Currently, however, it seems to be failing in this regard. This is not only bad for India but bad for other countries that take doctors trained in India. In wanting to draw attention to these problems, I am holding my Indian colleagues to the same standards of ethical behaviour as I would my colleagues at home.
So what can be done? One place to start would be to reform the private medical colleges, the number of which is burgeoning as the Indian government tries to expand the number of medical graduates.7 As long as places are available for sale at astronomical prices at these institutions,8 and as long as they resort to fraudulent practices and bribery to pass their inspections,9 then the integrity and competence of their graduates will remain questionable and the cycle of corruption will remain unbreakable.
If prompt reform is not forthcoming from within the country (and the will seems to be lacking10), then the spotlight needs to turn global. The medical licensing authorities of the United Kingdom, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand could withdraw recognition from all suspect private Indian medical colleges, sending a signal that there is no longer such a thing as “local corruption.” These countries are popular foreign destinations for Indian medical graduates, but they do not want to accommodate potentially corrupt doctors of uncertain competence, and neither do the people of India. more
Kickbacks and bribes oil every part of the country’s healthcare machinery, writes David Berger. If India’s authorities cannot make improvements, international agencies should act
“The corruption strangles everything, Sir. It’s like a cancer.” Accompanied by apologetic shrugs and half smiles, statements like this are commonly heard in India. I knew this was the case before I went to work as a volunteer physician in a small charitable hospital in the Himalayas, but what I didn’t realise was how far the corruption permeates the world of medicine and the corrosive effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship.
Although the causes and effects of corruption are complex, a few strands can be teased out. The healthcare system itself is a model of inequity; it is one of the most privatised in the world, with out of pocket expenditure on healthcare at more than 70%, far higher even than in the United States.1 This phenomenon is at least partly the result of the neoliberal World Bank policies of the 1990s, which mandated a reduction in public financing of healthcare, fuelling growth of the private sector.2 The latest in technological medicine is available to people who can pay, albeit at a high price, but the vast underclass, 800 million people or more, has little or no access to healthcare, and what access it does have is mostly to limited substandard government care or to quacks, who seem to operate with near impunity. There is one leveller, however: corruption is rife at all levels, from the richest to the poorest.
One day in the outpatient department I was writing a request for an exercise electrocardiogram at a private heart clinic when the devout young resident consulting beside me said, “Give me that. I have to sign it.” Perplexed, I handed it over, and the story unfolded: all investigations attract a 10-15% kickback to the referring doctor. One day, the marketing executive for this clinic had turned up at the hospital with an envelope full of cash—the commission for investigations ordered in the past few months. The senior doctor refused it and stipulated that in future the commission was to be paid back to patients, which is why the resident had to sign the form. The country’s doctors and medical institutions live in an “unvirtuous circle” of referral and kickback that poisons their integrity and destroys any chance of a trusting relationship with their patients.
Given these practices, it is no surprise that investigations and procedures are abused as a means of milking patients. 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. A senior doctor in another hospital a couple of hours away was renowned for using ultrasonography as a profligate, revenue earning procedure, charging desperately poor people Rs1000 (£10; €12; $17) each time. Everyone who works in healthcare in India knows this kind of thing is widespread.
There is also widespread corruption in the pharmaceutical industry, with doctors bribed to prescribe particular drugs. Tales are common of hospital directors being given top of the range cars and other inducements when their hospitals sign contracts to prescribe particular antibiotics preferentially.
I met a former pharmaceutical sales executive who left the industry, sickened by the corrupt practices he was supposed to employ. Working for one of the largest drug companies in the country, he was expected to bribe doctors with money and luxury goods. The crunch came when a doctor demanded that the company fly him to Thailand for a holiday and then provide him with prostitutes at his home. When the company representative queried this, his manager told him to comply, and he felt he had no choice but to resign, protesting that he was “not a pimp.”
It is no wonder, therefore, that a common complaint I heard from poor and middle class people is that they don’t trust their doctors. They don’t trust them to be competent or to be honest, and they live in fear of having to consult them, which results in high levels of doctor shopping.
Lack of trust in doctors, and the costs associated with going to see them, mean many patients rely on pharmacists, who seem to have a similar lack of ethics, selling inappropriate drugs over the counter at exorbitant prices to people who often have to borrow the money to pay for them.
Endemic corruption extends to medical studies themselves. In another “unvirtuous circle,” students can have to pay very large “donations” (perhaps $200 000 or more, some 20 times the average doctor’s annual salary) to get into the rapidly increasing number of private medical colleges and to get on to sought after postgraduate training schemes. This means that doctors can have high levels of debt or family obligation when qualifying, which is a strong incentive against working as generalists in rural areas and favours them practising technological medicine for maximum profit in urban areas to try to recoup their investment.
Many Indian doctors have huge expertise, and many are honourable and treat their patients well, but as a group, doctors have a poor reputation. Until the profession is prepared to tackle this head-on and acknowledge the corrosive effects of its corruption then the doctor-patient relationship will continue to lie in tatters.
The arrest on bribery allegations in 2010 of the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) president Ketan Desai,3 and the subsequent dissolution of the council by the president of India,4 were indicative of the crisis in probity among the Indian medical profession. Subsequently, there has been controversy over the surprise removal, on the day India was declared polio-free, of the health secretary Keshav Desirajus, possibly in response to his resistance to moves to reappoint Desai to the reconstituted MCI.5 6
Medicine has globally accepted standards of conduct. The Indian profession should want to adhere and be held accountable to these. Currently, however, it seems to be failing in this regard. This is not only bad for India but bad for other countries that take doctors trained in India. In wanting to draw attention to these problems, I am holding my Indian colleagues to the same standards of ethical behaviour as I would my colleagues at home.
So what can be done? One place to start would be to reform the private medical colleges, the number of which is burgeoning as the Indian government tries to expand the number of medical graduates.7 As long as places are available for sale at astronomical prices at these institutions,8 and as long as they resort to fraudulent practices and bribery to pass their inspections,9 then the integrity and competence of their graduates will remain questionable and the cycle of corruption will remain unbreakable.
If prompt reform is not forthcoming from within the country (and the will seems to be lacking10), then the spotlight needs to turn global. The medical licensing authorities of the United Kingdom, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand could withdraw recognition from all suspect private Indian medical colleges, sending a signal that there is no longer such a thing as “local corruption.” These countries are popular foreign destinations for Indian medical graduates, but they do not want to accommodate potentially corrupt doctors of uncertain competence, and neither do the people of India. more
Viewed by 4041
View all 52 comments Below 52 comments
Maine to haath khade kar diye hain .Corruption to Bhagwan agar khud bhi dharti par aaa jayen to bhi nahi khatam ho sakta.Shaaid satyug tak intzar karna pade more
Oct 24
very well written with the reality as it is today. unfortunately in India with consumerism there is an increase in greed. we are modelling ourselves on western societies, which sort of appears inevitable as in other Asian countries.while the bad aspects of western society are absorbed, the good part is not. also the bad aspects of our society like dowry, which one hoped would decrease with education, on the contrary are on the increase. corporatisation of hospitals have made them focus on profit. while health care may have improved, the focus on profit leads to undesirable practices as mentioned above. govt does not have a clear policy on this and the medical council which should be a watchdog is itself riddled in corruption. we need a pro active medical council headed by eminent doctors with integrity to clean up the system. there is a crying need act and I think the govt should recognise the problem and act on it. maybe we should generate a petition to the PM. more
Sep 27
Corruption is very deep rooted in all Govt. Departments. I have already given suggestions on this point a number of times.i further suggest that prompt and strict action should be taken against corrupt workers. Action should start from the highest post not from junior most post. more
Sep 26
Mr. David Berger's above observations on corruption in Health Services in India are 100% based on facts and reflect the true picture of the disease's (corruption) pervasiveness in this most important daily needed services. Prevailing of corruptions in every kind of people directly or indirectly responsible to provide the service is resulting in thousands of pre-matured deaths being unable to afford it and/or are totally ruined in the effort of saving the lives of the nears & dears.
Mr. Berger has comprehensively covered the modus operandi of the prevailing corruptions. However, there are still many more ways prevailing in the services in our country to siphon money by making people fool of. But our governments (Central & State) are complacent in providing a couple of percentage of their annual budgets for the service, which is equal to not more than a few drops of water only in the ocean and never feel it necessary to see as to how the common man is being dealt with by this most important sector.
Since the list of the remaining methods of corruption prevailing in the sector is likely to be a big one, I note to highlight on them in my next post. more
Mr. Berger has comprehensively covered the modus operandi of the prevailing corruptions. However, there are still many more ways prevailing in the services in our country to siphon money by making people fool of. But our governments (Central & State) are complacent in providing a couple of percentage of their annual budgets for the service, which is equal to not more than a few drops of water only in the ocean and never feel it necessary to see as to how the common man is being dealt with by this most important sector.
Since the list of the remaining methods of corruption prevailing in the sector is likely to be a big one, I note to highlight on them in my next post. more
Sep 25
grievance letter
From: "biswanath dhar"
Show details
Reply Reply All Forward Delete
Images from this message have been blocked. View images
The Addl. Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
& Government Representative to UTIITSL Board
Respected Sir,
I, Shri. Biswanath Dhar is an employee of UTI Infrastructure Technology & Services limited(UTI ITSL) in the Division of INFRASTRUCTURE as a Draughtsman ( CIVIL ) and my Employee Code is 1098 been work in this office since 7th July 2010 as Senior Executive ( Draughtsman Civil ) bring following facts for direct investigations.
Everyone Know RM ERO Playing game with support of Top Management :-
1. Illegal Transfer from Infrastructure Division to Kolkata branch Pan card Data Entry operator without any proper Notice or Transfer Order my actual job is Designing
2. RM ERO transfer me to data entry operator citting reason falsely, Due to increase work load in Kolkata Branch as per mail dated 11th June 2015. Then suddenly received a letter from HRD head on dated 24th June 2015 and also mail dated 31th June 2015 regarding extremely poor performance in the Infrastructure department so I am being shifted to Kolkata branch Pan Department to improve performance.
Here I want to know if branch pan performance low, firstly action should be on branch manager or RM, if it is due of poor performance of me in infrastructure department. Why was not told to me on the date of Unofficial Transfer to Kolkata branch or early and secondly I want to know how a designing personnel performance can be improved by shifting him to Data Entry Operator. It is harassment on me.
3. If my performance is poor as stated by Head HRD and RM ERO then how come they found it after 5 long years
Here I also want to know what are the steps taken by the HRD and RM to improve my knowledge on designing in Infrastructure Division so as to improve my satisfactory performance to the company.
4. Joined as AM in 1994 and became head RM and continuing at same location from joining RM ERO is Incharge of this position starting from 2004 it has been already eleven years she was appointed RM ERO. Know I want to point it out that all Regional Manager of UTIITSL are person belong to soil, then why ER office is deprived or we may call it ER son of the soil is deprived for eleven years. Due to her very close relation with CEO and few Board Member.
Due to this position for last eleven years many employees both permanent and temporary are haras by her and many left the Job, exit paper of Mr. Manish Kumar is example.
5. I have also heard about proving of corruption cases against RM ERO is being investigated by officials of corporate office. Here I also want to know how can a person stay as a VP when corruption charges are under investigation.
6. Some monetary game by Chandranath Bhattacharya the so call right hand of RM ERO. This was also noted by the audit department and DVP ERO but no action was taken till date and this matter is known to nearly all ERO employees but no one want to confess it, since they fill threaten that RM ERO can haras them or transfer them with support of CEO.
Susheeba Alex have a Lunch break of minimum 1 ½ to 2 hrs .
Being head coming office late mostly 09:15-09:30) and leaving early mostly (06:00 pm, earlier caught by Mr.Vasant Prabhu, Head HR for doing proxy attendance.
Officials are assigned work relating to her daughter studies, the official laptop is used for her daughter studies only.
No proper infrastructure for official staff (No proper sitting arrangement in Front Counter chairs, toilets not very clean, no toilet soaps, some times in no water in bathrooms , W.C. door full day lock ), but she has a separate cabin with all facilities, other RM or even CTO is not having cabin in our company.
Removed the temporary staff (Mr. Salil Pahari )who is working for long time as he was aware of all the things (include fraud encashment SUUTI Cheques ) which are happenin
From: "Amit Mishra"support@localcirclesmail.com
Sent:Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:30:41 +0530
To: b_dhar74@rediffmail.com
Subject: New post "Health Corruption" in [Fighting Corruption Together] more
From: "biswanath dhar"
Show details
Reply Reply All Forward Delete
Images from this message have been blocked. View images
The Addl. Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
& Government Representative to UTIITSL Board
Respected Sir,
I, Shri. Biswanath Dhar is an employee of UTI Infrastructure Technology & Services limited(UTI ITSL) in the Division of INFRASTRUCTURE as a Draughtsman ( CIVIL ) and my Employee Code is 1098 been work in this office since 7th July 2010 as Senior Executive ( Draughtsman Civil ) bring following facts for direct investigations.
Everyone Know RM ERO Playing game with support of Top Management :-
1. Illegal Transfer from Infrastructure Division to Kolkata branch Pan card Data Entry operator without any proper Notice or Transfer Order my actual job is Designing
2. RM ERO transfer me to data entry operator citting reason falsely, Due to increase work load in Kolkata Branch as per mail dated 11th June 2015. Then suddenly received a letter from HRD head on dated 24th June 2015 and also mail dated 31th June 2015 regarding extremely poor performance in the Infrastructure department so I am being shifted to Kolkata branch Pan Department to improve performance.
Here I want to know if branch pan performance low, firstly action should be on branch manager or RM, if it is due of poor performance of me in infrastructure department. Why was not told to me on the date of Unofficial Transfer to Kolkata branch or early and secondly I want to know how a designing personnel performance can be improved by shifting him to Data Entry Operator. It is harassment on me.
3. If my performance is poor as stated by Head HRD and RM ERO then how come they found it after 5 long years
Here I also want to know what are the steps taken by the HRD and RM to improve my knowledge on designing in Infrastructure Division so as to improve my satisfactory performance to the company.
4. Joined as AM in 1994 and became head RM and continuing at same location from joining RM ERO is Incharge of this position starting from 2004 it has been already eleven years she was appointed RM ERO. Know I want to point it out that all Regional Manager of UTIITSL are person belong to soil, then why ER office is deprived or we may call it ER son of the soil is deprived for eleven years. Due to her very close relation with CEO and few Board Member.
Due to this position for last eleven years many employees both permanent and temporary are haras by her and many left the Job, exit paper of Mr. Manish Kumar is example.
5. I have also heard about proving of corruption cases against RM ERO is being investigated by officials of corporate office. Here I also want to know how can a person stay as a VP when corruption charges are under investigation.
6. Some monetary game by Chandranath Bhattacharya the so call right hand of RM ERO. This was also noted by the audit department and DVP ERO but no action was taken till date and this matter is known to nearly all ERO employees but no one want to confess it, since they fill threaten that RM ERO can haras them or transfer them with support of CEO.
Susheeba Alex have a Lunch break of minimum 1 ½ to 2 hrs .
Being head coming office late mostly 09:15-09:30) and leaving early mostly (06:00 pm, earlier caught by Mr.Vasant Prabhu, Head HR for doing proxy attendance.
Officials are assigned work relating to her daughter studies, the official laptop is used for her daughter studies only.
No proper infrastructure for official staff (No proper sitting arrangement in Front Counter chairs, toilets not very clean, no toilet soaps, some times in no water in bathrooms , W.C. door full day lock ), but she has a separate cabin with all facilities, other RM or even CTO is not having cabin in our company.
Removed the temporary staff (Mr. Salil Pahari )who is working for long time as he was aware of all the things (include fraud encashment SUUTI Cheques ) which are happenin
From: "Amit Mishra"support@localcirclesmail.com
Sent:Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:30:41 +0530
To: b_dhar74@rediffmail.com
Subject: New post "Health Corruption" in [Fighting Corruption Together] more
Sep 25
