Gujarat finalizing new SOPs for hospitals with PMJAY facilities

The state government is finalising a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for operations in multi-speciality hospitals with PMJAY facilities in the wake of the Khyati Hospital incident in which two people died after an angioplasty. The new SOP is likely to be announced in a week.

The chief minister convened a meeting on Tuesday to review the new SOP after the state health minister held meetings on the issue. A senior official of the health department told Mirror that the government will focus on four areas—cardiac issues, knee replacements, chemotherapy and radiology.

“There have been cases of irregularities in the above fields where hospitals perform surgeries to claim a refund under PMJAY. The loopholes will be identified and a strict SOP will be put in place to ensure that provisions of PMJAY are not misused,” the official said.

The official added that a two-tier checking system is also being finalised. “This means after a doctor suggests surgery, a team of doctors will review and give the final approval for the same. Though it will increase the time it is necessary to avoid such incidents,” the official said.

According to sources in the health department, the highest number of surgeries under PMJAY are those of knee replacement followed by cardiac surgeries. The government plans a check on these and see that only genuine patients are benefitted.

Accused in Khyati hosp had ties with docs for referrals
A full-fledged investigation has been launched into how much money Khyati hospital CEO Rahul Jain, director Chirag Rajput and another accused, Milind Patel, allegedly amassed by cheating people. The city crime branch has obtained the income tax returns (ITR) of the trio and is comparing the documents with the lifestyle of the accused. Not long ago, Patel and Rajput reportedly took crores of rupees from people by asking them to invest in franchises for medical stores of well-known hospitals.
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According to crime branch sources, people allegedly made the investment for high-interest returns. “Those who invested money will also be part of the investigation. During preliminary investigation, it has come to light that some doctors associated with prominent hospitals had also invested,” said a crime branch official. Sources revealed that several doctors and some politicians have removed their pictures with the Khyati Hospital case accused from their social media platforms.

Docs got paid for referring patients
According to the investigators, Rajput, Jain and Patel had a commission arrangement with several doctors to refer patients with free medical scheme cards to Khyati hospital. “We will investigate their connection to the Khyati Hospital scam. We have also identified patients who received unnecessary stents,” said an investigator. Ahmedabad Mirror