Khyati Hospital PMJAY-Scam: 2 CEOs under investigation for multi-crore fraud, purchasing patient data

"After Khyati hospital became operational, both accused worked alongside Khyati Group chairman Kartik Patel and received financial benefits for business obtained under the govt schemes. They not only got the benefits under the PM-JAY scheme, but also held health check-up camps, performed various surgeries, and provided hospitalisation, which were covered under other govt schemes," said a senior police officer.

Patient data purchase racket

The Crime Branch, investigating the case alongside the police discovered that the hospital operated a racket involving the illegal procurement and misuse of patient data. Using the data, they organised health camps in targeted villages, bribed village sarpanches with 10-20% commission per cardiac procedure and sold collected patient data to commercial healthcare companies. 

Comparing the hospital's practices with fraudulent call centre operations, a senior police officer said,  "Like con call centre operators, Khyati Hospital officials bought patient data, complete with their age, gender and medical history from an undisclosed source. Using this illegally obtained data, they decided to target specific villages and hold health check-up camps there. They later allegedly sold newly collected health data from camp participants to commercial healthcare and medical companies, in what seems to be a double breach of privacy."

On November 19, Crime Branch investigators carried out raids at six separate locations, leading to the seizure of 15 CPUs containing patient records from the hospital, TOI reports. 

It has been revealed that the hospital authorities bribed the village sarpanches to spread the word about the medical camps being held in their villages so that more people would participate and the hospital would perform angioplasty on them. The system operated like a racket which came to light after the death of two PMJAY beneficiaries following a botched angioplasty procedure. Even though they had no history of heart-related ailments as confirmed by their family members, the doctors performed an angioplasty on them. 

"They selected villages with higher populations of middle-aged or elderly people who could be easily targeted for angiography or angioplasty," said a senior police official. 

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that one of the two doctors of Khyati Hospital in Bodakdev who were booked for allegedly performing an angioplasty procedure on two PMJAY beneficiaries which led to their death without taking their family's consent was arrested by the city police.

While the cardiologist was apprehended within hours after registering a case, the other doctor facing similar charges is reported to be linked to hospitals in Rajkot and Surat making this a wider controversy.

The arrested doctor is one of five persons accused in three FIRs filed in the case where the owners and doctor of Khyati Multispeciality Hospital were booked for culpable homicide, attempted culpable homicide, forgery, cheating, and criminal conspiracy for allegedly performing unnecessary angioplasty surgeries on two patients who later died due to alleged negligence in post-operative care.

Also read- PMJAY Beneficiaries Death Row: Khyati Hospital among 7 suspended from Ayushman Bharat