Health Bulletin 24/ April/ 2025 - Video

The Supreme Court recently upheld an order passed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), which found Kamineni Hospitals vicariously liable for the doctor's medical negligence.

Vicarious liability is a legal concept where one party is held responsible for the actions of another due to a specific relationship, such as that between an employer and employee. In healthcare, hospitals can be held liable for the negligent acts of their staff, like nurses or doctors, even if the institution itself was not directly at fault.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has stayed the Gujarat Medical Council's (GMC) order debarring the registration of the cardiologist currently in jail for being the key accused in the Khyati Hospital scam case. The doctor was accused of performing botched angioplasty procedures on seven patients, of which two patients succumbed to post-operative complications.

As per the Times of India report, the apex regulatory body issued an order on April 10 putting a hold on the medical council's decision move to debar Dr Prashant Vazirani from medical practice for three years. The NMC referred to a previous 2022 judgment by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court in a similar case, saying that immediate action could cause “irreparable harm” to the doctor before his appeal is fully heard.

Nearly a month after a youth fraudulently claimed Rs 60k worth of medicines under the Ayushman Bharat- PMJAY scheme using forged documents and fake stamps from the pharmacy of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh, the joint action committee of the institute's Contract Workers’ Union has urged the central government to constitute a high level panel to probe the employees role in connection to the case.

In a letter to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the committee asked the government to set up a special committee to investigate possible irregularities in the Ayushman scheme. The union's joint action committee claimed that some employees from the medical superintendent’s office and the private grant cell may be involved in the alleged scam.

The Karnataka government has issued a stern warning to government doctors against engaging in Private practice during duty hours. Medical Education Minister Sharanprakash Patil warned that doctors working in government medical colleges who violate this rule will face disciplinary action, along with deductions in their leave days and salary.

Most states in India prohibit government doctors from engaging in private practice during duty hours. Now, Karnataka doctors working in government medical colleges and hospitals have been asked to follow these warnings accordingly.