NMMTA urges MCI not to bar M.Sc & PhD holders from certifying medical test reports

Our Bureau, Mumbai Tuesday, July 04, 2017, 17:45 Hrs  [IST]

National M.Sc Medical Teachers' Association (NMMTA) has urged Medical Council of India (MCI) to withdraw notification  barring M.Sc & PhD holders from certifying medical test reports. The MCI has written to National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) regarding eligibility of candidates to sign diagnostic laboratory reports. Earlier, the NABL had sought clarification from MCI whether the M.Sc with PhD candidates who as a matter of fact are not registered with MCI are eligible to sign medical laboratory reports; can persons holding MBBS degree registered with MCI/State Medical Council sign the medical test reports?; can PhD (medical microbiology, medical biochemistry, life sciences, applied biology, cytogenetics, biotechnology) in relevant discipline be allowed to sign medical test reports? If not, can the same be allowed if they are co-authorised with a person registered with MCI/State Medical Council?. Currently, the document 112 of NABL provides authorized signatory roles for Medical M.Sc degree holders, in the disciplines of microbiology and biochemistry. Ostensibly, under the pressure from non-clinical doctors, NABL was pressurized to exclude non-doctors from this role. In its part, NABL chose to seek the opinion from the MCI. After a delay of nearly three years, MCI replied that all lab reports should be signed/countersigned by persons registered with MCI/State Medical Council. This is in stark contrast to its previous stand. In 2005, the members of the Adhoc Committee appointed by the Supreme Court and members of the Executive Committee of the MCI had approved the decision of the Ethics Committee that M.Sc. (Medical Biochemistry) with or without Ph.D is entitled to independently or solely sign a Medical Biochemistry report in a clinical laboratory. In a bizarre U-turn, the Executive Committee of the MCI has claimed that it did not approve the recommendations of the Ethics Committee. "It is very unethical of the MCI to overrule the recommendations of the Ethics Committee", said Dr. Sridhar Rao, President of National M.Sc Medical Teachers' Association (NMMTA). The MCI has claimed that organizations like hospitals and nursing homes are beyond the jurisdiction of MCI. "How can diagnostic laboratories attached to hospitals and nursing homes fall under MCI's jurisdiction", quipped Dr. Rao. "Worldwide biomedical scientists are held in high esteem and allowed to sign reports", added Dr. Rao. Arjun Maitra, secretary, NMMTA said “Even though the MCI's letter was in the context of the NABL accredited laboratories only, it is having far-reaching and unintended effects. It is being widely misconstrued as MCI's order to all diagnostic laboratories. This letter is also being misused to evict biomedical scientists from laboratories attached to medical colleges. With no clarification coming from the MCI, India's biomedical scientists are obviously alarmed with the fear of losing livelihood and dignity. "We are being disallowed to practice in the area we were trained in". "There is a huge misconception and lack of awareness about the nature of medical M.Sc degree. Like MD degrees, clinical diagnostic laboratory testing and interpretation is an integral part of the medical M.Sc courses in Biochemistry and Microbiology," he added. "Services in the diagnostic laboratory should not be misinterpreted as the practice of medicine", he stated. "Doctors with MBBS degree only can interpret basic laboratory tests whereas special tests need understanding at a postgraduate level, such as those with MD or medical M.Sc degree" said Maitra. As a representation of biomedical scientists engaged in healthcare, NMMTA is planning to meet the Prime Minister and the health Minister to convince them the importance of biomedical scientists in the diagnostic laboratories. NMMTA is a registered association of persons possessing medical M.Sc degrees in the subjects of anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology or microbiology obtained under the faculty of medicine from MCI-recognized medical colleges.