Corruption rampant in India’s hospitals

[Guest guest]

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Corruption rampant in India's hospitals

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: Besides the taxation departments, hospitals and health

services are breeding grounds of corruption and malpractices in

India. According to a study conducted by an NGO Transparency

International, total value of corruption in government hospitals

across India has been estimated at whooping Rs 20.17 billion a year.

Other forms of corruption, where monitory value could not be

ascertained, included counterfeit drugs, non-availability of

medicines forced diagnostic tests that may not be necessary, doctors

asking patients to go to a particular diagnostic centre and over-

prescription of drugs, etc.

Transparency International has recommended that doctors and

recipient governments should grant easy access to information on key

aspects of health-related projects, budgets and policies.

Rigorous prosecution will send the message that corruption in health

care will not be tolerated. To facilitate this, there must be robust

whistleblower protection for both government employees and private

sector health, pharmaceutical and biotech employees, the study

report said.

According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Report

2006, released on Friday, " Corruption in health care costs more than

money, it is paid in human sufferings. " It deprives those, who are

in need of essential medical care and helps spawn drug-resistant

strains of deadly diseases.

It also deals on the state of corruption and governance in 45

countries around the world, including troubling evidence of

financial irregularities in post-tsunami relief operations. The

report exposes a maze of complex and opaque systems that are a

fertile field for corruption in health sector.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C02%5C05%

5Cstory_5-2-2006_pg4_16