07-12-2007, 01:05 AM
<!--emo&:thumbdown--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Only blocked arteries excite Safdarjung cardiologists </b>
Durgesh Nandan Jha | New Delhi
Pioneer investigation
If you have a cardiac ailment other than artery blockage the chances are that the Cardiology department of Safdarjung Hospital will not treat you. According to data available with The Pioneer, out of the 6,110 patients treated by the Cardiology department of the hospital between 2004 and June 15, 2007, as many as 5,420 patients had undergone angiography and angioplasty, the tests and treatment required for artery blockage. The majority of the patients having other heart ailments like congenital heart disease or rheumatic heart disease were referred to the Medicine and CGHS wings of the hospital.
Hospital sources reveal that the main reason behind this is the commercial interest of the doctors who get large sums by way of commission for the use of equipments required for angiography and angioplasty.<b> "For each Angiography test the doctors have a fixed commission of Rs 2,000 and Rs 40,000 for the equipment required for Angioplasty treatment,"</b> claimed the source. The source added that the whole process of commission was worked out through the medical representatives (MR) who work as the go between and provide the equipments needed for these tests. "For all equipments like Sheath, Guide Wire and Catheter required for Angiography tests or the stent required for Angioplasty treatment, the doctors refers to the MR who provides the patient with required equipment and the doctor with his commission," said the source. <b>The Angioplasty process costs from Rs 75,000 to 2 lakhs depending upon the severity of the case</b>.
The patients having other ailments are discouraged by the Cardiac department and are left to struggle for life in the Medicine or CGHS wings of the hospital. The most common heart diseases in India, other than blockages, are Arrythmia (in this disease the heart rate of the patient is abnormal), Cardiomyopathy (in this disease the ventricular walls of the heart become abnormally rigid) and Ventricular failure. In children, congenital heart disease is very common. Also, a large number of young people suffer from rheumatic heart disease.
<b>"Apart from artery blockage, there are several other heart ailments but the doctors in the Cardiology department of the hospital discourage admissions m as no commissions are forthcoming in their treatment," </b>said one of the doctors in the Cardiology department of the hospital. The doctor said that the benefactors of commission are mostly the senior doctors of the department. "Such things are practised in most of the hospitals of the country and it is nearly impossible to stop this until and unless the doctor is morally upright or the administration is strict," he added. But the irony with Safdarjung Hospital is that the Medical Superintendent Dr Jagdish Prasad is unable to check such practices though he himself belongs to the Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Sciences (CTVS) department.
Despite several visits to his office, Dr Prasad was unavailable for comments. CTVS department uses the laboratory of the Cardiology department and most of the Angioplasty treatment or Angiography tests are conducted in the common laboratory.Â
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Durgesh Nandan Jha | New Delhi
Pioneer investigation
If you have a cardiac ailment other than artery blockage the chances are that the Cardiology department of Safdarjung Hospital will not treat you. According to data available with The Pioneer, out of the 6,110 patients treated by the Cardiology department of the hospital between 2004 and June 15, 2007, as many as 5,420 patients had undergone angiography and angioplasty, the tests and treatment required for artery blockage. The majority of the patients having other heart ailments like congenital heart disease or rheumatic heart disease were referred to the Medicine and CGHS wings of the hospital.
Hospital sources reveal that the main reason behind this is the commercial interest of the doctors who get large sums by way of commission for the use of equipments required for angiography and angioplasty.<b> "For each Angiography test the doctors have a fixed commission of Rs 2,000 and Rs 40,000 for the equipment required for Angioplasty treatment,"</b> claimed the source. The source added that the whole process of commission was worked out through the medical representatives (MR) who work as the go between and provide the equipments needed for these tests. "For all equipments like Sheath, Guide Wire and Catheter required for Angiography tests or the stent required for Angioplasty treatment, the doctors refers to the MR who provides the patient with required equipment and the doctor with his commission," said the source. <b>The Angioplasty process costs from Rs 75,000 to 2 lakhs depending upon the severity of the case</b>.
The patients having other ailments are discouraged by the Cardiac department and are left to struggle for life in the Medicine or CGHS wings of the hospital. The most common heart diseases in India, other than blockages, are Arrythmia (in this disease the heart rate of the patient is abnormal), Cardiomyopathy (in this disease the ventricular walls of the heart become abnormally rigid) and Ventricular failure. In children, congenital heart disease is very common. Also, a large number of young people suffer from rheumatic heart disease.
<b>"Apart from artery blockage, there are several other heart ailments but the doctors in the Cardiology department of the hospital discourage admissions m as no commissions are forthcoming in their treatment," </b>said one of the doctors in the Cardiology department of the hospital. The doctor said that the benefactors of commission are mostly the senior doctors of the department. "Such things are practised in most of the hospitals of the country and it is nearly impossible to stop this until and unless the doctor is morally upright or the administration is strict," he added. But the irony with Safdarjung Hospital is that the Medical Superintendent Dr Jagdish Prasad is unable to check such practices though he himself belongs to the Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Sciences (CTVS) department.
Despite several visits to his office, Dr Prasad was unavailable for comments. CTVS department uses the laboratory of the Cardiology department and most of the Angioplasty treatment or Angiography tests are conducted in the common laboratory.Â
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