Mumbai: The eight-member committee formed by the State government on Monday placed a draft of the proposed Prevention of Cut Practices in Healthcare Services Act, 2017 in the public domain for suggestions and objections. The draft Act covers individual doctors and healthcare setups, hitherto not covered under the Medical Council of India. Also, the Act brings allopathy, ayurveda and homeopathy practitioners under one ambit. It will be open to public opinion for four weeks.
A ‘cut’ is a commission offered to a doctor by a counterpart when a patient is referred for check-ups, diagnostic tests or surgeries. Under the proposed legislation, a senior police officer will be the complaint authority. A complainant has to give a written affidavit about his complaint to the police officer, who will conduct a discreet verification of the allegation for three months.
This will be followed by an FIR, and the penalty decided by the judge could be simple imprisonment up to three years or fine or both. Former State DGP Pravin Dixit, who heads the committee, said, “Till now, taking a ‘cut’ was considered unethical. We are trying to make the practice illegal as it is nothing but corruption.”
Dr. Sanjay Oak, a committee member, rued the fact that an Act is needed to check medical professionals. “The draft’s key feature is that it brings individual doctors and hospitals under the ambit. So far, only doctors were answerable.” said Dr Oak. The draft will remain in the public domain for four weeks.
The ‘cut practice’ debate began in June this year after the Asian Heart Institute in BKC put up a hoarding near the airport that said: ‘Honest Opinion. No Commission to Doctor’. Many doctors took offence and the Indian Medical Association demanded AHI pull down the hoarding as it suggested all doctors are into the unethical practice. Following this, the State government appointed a committee to draft a legislation.
