Hyderabad: With more than 10,000 quacks within 100 km of Hyderabad, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleges that the growing nexus between registered medical practitioners and corporate or superspeciality hospitals and nursing homes is the reason for their survival.
The issue is being heavily debated in medical circles following Unani doctor Salman from Misrigunj in the Old City trying to dispose the body of a patient who had died due to a reaction from an injection.
Dr Shyam Sunder of Telangana IMA said, “This case is only the tip of the iceberg. A survey conducted in 2009 had shown that there were 2.5 lakh quacks in India. And united Andhra Pradesh ranked the highest with 1.5 lakh quacks. Despite raising so much hue and cry from time to time, the action taken is minimal or close to none.”
There is too much bickering within the medical fraternity over the patronage offered by corporate or super speciality hospitals to these RMPs.
Doctors state that out of every 1,000 patients going for regular treatment, only 100 reach MBBS doctors, 100 reach super specialists and the remaining 800 go to quacks. A senior allopathic doctor said, “It is often alleged that MBBS doctors don’t want to go to rural areas, but the other side of the coin is that they also face tough competition from these unqualified doctors. There is a huge struggle to survive where the practises are not ethical and most people think that only cities and big hospitals provide the best treatment.”
The going rate in the market for reference ranges from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 per patient depending on the type of disease, and treatment required. Corporate hospitals, however, refute these allegations.
Dr Bhaskar Rao, member of Telangana Super Specialty Hospitals said, “There is no such practice or nexus. The government must have a proper structure in place where the roles are properly defined and also implemented. But that is not happening. We are all part of the IMA and we too have been stating that RMP’ss are only for primary care and they can refer the patient to any MBBS doctor. It is their job to send patients to nursing homes or hospitals for secondary and critical care. But we find that they are indulging in secondary care too, which is creating a lot of problems even at hospital level.”
A senior allopathic doctor added, “We have silent murderers in our country and there is very little that is being done by the government. Despite so many Acts, no strict action is being taken. Why? People assault an MBBS doctor if a surgery goes wrong… Are such incidents heard of in case of RMPs?”
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