DOCTORS AGAINST PROBE INTO ‘CUT PRACTICES’ BY ACB
NEW MEDICAL LEGISLATION The final draft for the Act will be submitted soon, curbing how much docs get paid for lab tests, surgeries
Soon, the original draft of the Cut Practices Act for doctors is likely to be finalised, though a majority of suggestions are against handing over the investigations to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). A senior official said that they have received over 250 suggestions and recommendations from different healthcare facilities for the new Act.
The officials said senior doctors of the eight-member committee who drafted the act, support the decision as ACB is the most competent agency in the state to investigate the matters pertaining to corruption in the medical fraternity.
An eight-member committee has been formed by the state government which is headed by Pravin Dixit, former director general of police, who prepared the draft on July 2017.
“The committee prepared the draft and uploaded it for suggestions and recommendations from different stakeholders of society. Till Wednesday, more than 250 individuals and NGOs submitted their responses to the bill,” said an official.
Maharashtra Prevention of Cut Practices Act, 2017, is intended to make taking or offering cuts in the referral of patients by any healthcare provider as a legal offence.
The offenders, if found guilty by investigations of ACB or through court proceedings are liable to pay Rs 50,000, or get imprisonment up to five years or both.
A complainant, exposed to the act of cut practice can address the grievance before the local office of ACB within the jurisdiction of the offence. Even the state government can suo-moto, initiate proceedings against offenders
without a formal complaint.
Dixit said that majority of the suggestions, which have come from allopathic medical practitioners, are against ACB’s role as the authority of the Act.
He added that the doctors are suggesting that inquiries be held by a separate
committee or by members of Maharashtra Medical Council.
“The issue with this suggestion is that MMC’s ambit is restricted to the medical practitioners registered under them and it does not extend to diagnostic laboratories, medical representatives
and alternate medicine practitioners. Moreover, the Act isn’t restricted to medical negligence, it is largely to do with the corruption in the field for which ACB is the only competent body in the state,” Dixit said.
However, Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has over 40,000 members in Maharashtra said that they are against the Act as it can be used as a tool to harass those who are rightfully earning their living out of animosity.
The president of Indian Medical Association said earlier laws were made to prevent the corruption in the medical fraternity, so making a separate Act is not necessary.
“We have suggested that there should be district-level committees, headed by district magistrates or retired judges to conduct investigations in association with members of MMC rather than letting ACB handle the investigations,” said Ashok Tambe, President of IMA Maharashtra.
He added that since the definition of cut practice is too convoluted, smaller nursing homes and private doctors will bear the brunt of the Act rather than actual offenders.
Other members of the committee said that doctors are opposing the Act, thinking it would create hassles for those who rightfully earn their living.
“The Act is against those who earn profits through referring patients and monetary exploit those who blindly believe in healthcare facilitators. But they have to understand that majority of the offenders are those who are not governed by any other act like alternate medicine practitioners or diagnostic laboratories,” said a member of the committee.