From,
Dr Vani Kulhalli,
Vile Parle East,
Mumbai-57
To,
Minister for Medical
Education,
Government of
Maharashtra,
Mumbai.
Date
22-7-2013
Subject- Regarding complaint by Dr Himmatrao Bawaskar
against P M Medical Centre, Pune
Respected Sir,
You
may be aware that Dr Himmatrao Bawaskar has complained to the Maharashtra
Medical Council that P M Medical Centre,
Pune attempted to pay him commission for the ‘service’ of referring a patient
to them for investigation. In other
word, he has complained against ‘cut-practice’.
You
have been a Minister for a long time now. I am sure you may be aware of the
horrible financial, emotional and medical consequences of this practice. Yet
nobody is able to protect patients from its vile grip. This is because it is a
well-organised practice. Furthermore, the existing laws are insufficient to
provide for investigation and prosecution. Firstly the law states it merely
‘unethical’ whereas it is actually an organized financial crime. Secondly the
current law is applicable only to individual doctors, whereas doctors give and
take cuts in the names of hospitals, diagnostic centres etc.
While you have taken several initiatives to
improve healthcare in Maharashtra, I feel you must also take some more measures
to curb malpractices. I call upon you, a
law-maker, to deliberate on this at the
highest levels and bring in a law to make cut-practice illegal and punishable.
Please extend the law to any organization or individual providing healthcare,
so that everyone is covered by it.
As
a practicing doctor and a potential patient, I observe with pain and grief, the
extent of cut-practice and wish strongly that some legal measures should be
available to remedy the situation.
Copy
to
1. Chief
Minister, Maharashtra
2. Minister
of Health and Family Welfare
Sincerely,
Dr Vani Kulhalli
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