PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

The BMJ reveals 'unethical' targets in India's private hospitals

2015-09-04
(Press-News.org) Many doctors working in India's private hospitals are under pressure to carry out unnecessary tests and procedures to meet revenue targets, according to The BMJ this week.

In a special report published today, Meera Kay, a journalist in Bangalore, asks what can be done about financial targets for doctors working in profit driven hospitals that lead to expensive but unnecessary tests and surgery that also come with risk of harm?

According to Dr Gautam Mistry, a cardiologist in Kolkata, such unethical practices are widely known about in medical circles but public discourse has been lacking.

"Doctors who face pressure from hospital management to overprescribe surgeries or investigations fear for their livelihood," he told The BMJ. "Also they need to practise for a certain number of years, and by complaining they would be jeopardizing their career," he added.

SATHI (Support for Advocacy and Training to Health Initiatives), a non-governmental organization based in Pune, has for the first time documented the problem. Its recent report, Voices of Conscience from the Medical Profession, comprised interviews by the gynaecologist Arun Gardre with 78 doctors throughout India.

Gadre told The BMJ that India has seen a rise in multispeciality hospitals in India. "Their main aim is to generate revenue and profits for their investors," he said. "In the race to earn higher profits, conscience takes a back seat, and doctors are encouraged to indulge in unethical practice."

However, some doctors disagree about the ubiquity of financial targets for doctors, including Dr Devi Shetty, chairman of the Narayana Health Group, which runs 32 hospitals for profit in 20 locations in India and abroad.

He argues that setting financial goals for a doctor is not a common practice in India and told The BMJ that Narayana's hospitals do not set financial targets for doctors but do set performance targets to raise efficiency.

The Medical Council of India is responsible for institutional regulation of medical services, explains Kay. "But the MCI's reputation is in tatters; its inability to collect data on alleged medical negligence and general failure to bring prosecutions instill no confidence," she writes.

"A radical change in the structure and functioning of the MCI is the need of the hour," Gadre told The BMJ. "The elected members are all doctors, which could result in a biased outlook."

Kay points out that several organisations in India are now voicing concerns over revenue targets for doctors at corporate hospitals. For example, by allowing the public to challenge complaints that the MCI drops, and raising awareness on evidence based recommendations for medical care.

"Honest and well minded doctors must stand up and speak out loud against their corrupt medical colleagues," argues Dr Kunal Saha, president of People for Better Treatment, an Indian non-governmental organisation that promotes corruption-free healthcare in India.

The public "must also raise their voices to mount pressure to force the inept government to take exemplary action against the unprincipled doctors and avaricious private hospitals," he said.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

How kidney injury during combat affects the long-term health of today's soldiers

2015-09-04
Among 51 military service members who experienced severe acute kidney injury during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 88% of the injuries were due to blasts or projectiles. Twenty-two percent of the patients died within 60 days. Although still high, this mortality rate is significantly less than might be expected historically. The majority of survivors completely recovered their kidney function. Washington, DC (September 3, 2015) -- Acute kidney injury (AKI) leading to an abrupt or rapid decline in kidney function is a serious and increasingly prevalent condition. While ...

'Democratic peace' may not prevent international conflict

2015-09-03
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Using a new technique to analyze 52 years of international conflict, researchers suggest that there may be no such thing as a "democratic peace." In addition, a model developed with this new technique was found to predict international conflict five and even ten years in the future better than any existing model. Democratic peace is the widely held theory that democracies are less likely to go to war against each other than countries with other types of government. In the new study, researchers found that economic trade relationships and participation ...

Rapid testing for TB aims to reduce drug resistance, lower mortality rate

2015-09-03
Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have documented the accuracy of three new tests for more rapidly diagnosing drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis (TB), which are much harder and more expensive to treat and which, experts say, represent a major threat to global public health. The study is published online in the current issue of PLOS ONE. "Our study shows that TB testing that once took two to three months can now be done in as little as a day," said co-author Richard Garfein, PhD, professor in the Division of Global Public Health ...

Beyond species counts: Using evolutionary history to inform conservation

2015-09-03
Earth's species are disappearing at an astonishing--and troubling--rate. As human activity continues to put pressure on ecosystems around the world, the rate of loss continues to climb. How we slow this devastating loss and protect the enormous number of species on Earth is of considerable importance, and debate. Unfortunately, it is not feasible to simply protect everything. Limited funds require conservation planners and policy makers to prioritize the preservation of specific regions and ecosystems. An often-used strategy is to identify areas of high species richness ...

Increased odds for type 2 diabetes after prenatal exposure to Ukraine famine of 1932-33

2015-09-03
September 3, 2015 - Men and women exposed in early gestation to the man-made Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33 in regions with extreme food shortages were 1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in adulthood. In regions with severe famine there was a 1.3 fold rise in the odds of Type 2 diabetes, and there was no diabetes increase among individuals born in regions with no famine. Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the Komisarenko Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism in Kiev, Ukraine, and the Cheboratev Institute of Gerontology ...

The science of stereotyping: Challenging the validity of 'gaydar'

2015-09-03
MADISON, Wis. -- "Gaydar" -- the purported ability to infer whether people are gay or straight based on their appearance -- seemed to get a scientific boost from a 2008 study that concluded people could accurately guess someone's sexual orientation based on photographs of their faces. In a new paper published in the Journal of Sex Research, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison challenge what they call "the gaydar myth." William Cox, an assistant scientist in the Department of Psychology and the lead author, says gaydar isn't accurate and is actually a harmful ...

Shared habitats

Shared habitats
2015-09-03
The gut is an important reservoir for drug-resistant bacteria responsible for life-threatening hospital-acquired infections. A study in mice published on September 3rd in PLOS Pathogens reports that two of the most common antibiotic-resistant bacterial species circulating in hospitals occupy and effectively share the same location in the gut, and that they can be eliminated by fecal transplantation of a healthy gut microbiome. Eric Pamer, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, USA, and colleagues, investigated the interactions between vancomycin-resistant ...

Immune cells take cue from animal kingdom: Together, everyone achieves more

Immune cells take cue from animal kingdom: Together, everyone achieves more
2015-09-03
Much like birds fly in flocks to conserve energy, dolphins swim in pods to mate and find food, and colonies of ants create complex nests to protect their queens, immune cells engage in coordinated behavior to wipe out viruses like the flu. That's according to a new study published today in the journal Science by researchers at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. The findings reveal, for the first time, how immune cells work together to get to their final destination - the site of an injury or infection. The body is expansive and a virus or bacteria ...

D.C. needle exchange program prevented 120 new cases of HIV in 2 years

2015-09-03
WASHINGTON, DC (September 3, 2015)-- The District of Columbia's needle exchange program prevented 120 new cases of HIV infection and saved an estimated $44 million over just a two-year period, according to a first-of-a-kind study published today by researchers at the Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University. "Our study adds to the evidence that needle exchange programs not only work but are cost-effective investments in the battle against HIV," says Monica S. Ruiz, PhD, MPH, an assistant research professor in ...

U of G ecologists wondering where the lions -- and other top predators -- are

2015-09-03
Why are there not more lions when there's plenty of prey on the African savanna? A research team including two University of Guelph ecologists has discovered an unexpected pattern linking prey and predator species in diverse ecosystems worldwide. Integrative biology professors John Fryxell and Kevin McCann co-authored the paper, published today in Science. The team included researchers at McGill University, the University of British Columbia and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ont. Beyond lions and the gazelles they hunt on the African ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] The BMJ reveals 'unethical' targets in India's private hospitals