Harsh Vardhan calls it a snake pit and raises doc’s ire

New Delhi: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has sparked a controversy by calling the Central Drugs Standard Controls Organization a “snake pit of vested interests,” and the Medical Council of India – the government regulatory body that oversees medical education and practice – a “corrupt organization.”

Dr Harsh Vardhan was quoted in the Indian Express newspaper on Friday declaring that the industry he now oversees is corrupt. He was responding to questions about a campaign by the British Medical Journal against corruption in healthcare, particularly in India. The medical journal has highlighted the practice of doctors and hospitals taking referral fees or kickbacks.

When contacted, Jayshree Mehta, president of the Medical Council of India, admitted that the council has suspended several officials and employees suspected of being corrupt.

However, she said the council has been conducting itself in a transparent, professional manner, and called Dr Vardhan’s comments “disheartening and de-motivating as well.”

The ground reality is even poor Indians now seek care in the private sector, where the majority of Indians now receive medical treatment. But in that market, corruption is rampant, with hospitals, pharmacies, diagnostic centres and specialists often offering doctors kickbacks for referring patients.

This pushes up costs and leads to unnecessary medical tests and procedures, even driving some people of the middle class into poverty in a country where most people don’t have insurance, doctors interviewed say.

“Corruption is at the root of all problems in the country where doctors take advantage of the unequal relationship between themselves and patients,” says a doctor.