BPKIHS to reject pathology reports from outside labs

DHARAN, Feb 22: In a move to curb commission earnings by doctors who refer patients to laboratories outside the hospital for various tests, the B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) has readied itself not to accept pathology reports from any laboratory other than its own.



BPKIHS decided this after doctors at the hospital continued the practice of sending their patients to labs outside on various pretexts in spite of a hospital directive not to do so. [break]



Amid a spate of public complaints against the ill practice, the hospital expedited preparations to reject lab reports including CT Scan, X-ray, Ultrasound, MRI, Echo, Endoscopy and blood and urine tests prepared in private health institutions.



“We have world class lab equipment, and still we find doctors sending patients to private labs for various tests, on one pretext or other,” said Dr Bal Bhadra Prasad Das, vice-chancellor at BPKIHS. “Preparations are underway to reject lab test reports brought from outside, in order to discourage the trend,” he added.







Dr Das also informed that a formal decision would be announced after a proposal in this regard is approved by the BPKIHS Executive Committee.



According to Dr Das, the hospital has started providing prompt and reliable pathology services to the public. He also informed that the hospital has extended the lab operation hours from 8 AM to 8 PM to ensure that patients get pathology reports on the same day as the tests.



Some doctors at BPKIHS have been referring patients to private labs operating just outside BPKIHS premises on the pretext that the hospital lab is slow to deliver the reports. Around half a dozen private pathology labs and clinics are running just outside BPKIHS premise.



The hospital administration has issued a notice appealing to service seekers to undergo necessary pathology tests in the hospital lab itself. “Radiology, Video X-Ray, CT-Scan and other lab tests at the hospital are of international standard. We have of late also made the lab operations more prompt," said Assistance Director Dr Guru Khanal. “We have repeatedly asked the doctors not to refer patients to private clinics for any kind of test. If the practice continues, the administration will not shy away from taking action against those involved in such practices,” said Khanal.



Khanal also informed that BPKIHS has provisioned for alternative options in case of breakdown of equipment in its lab. “There are some tests which cannot be done in Nepal. Except in such cases, we will not accept reports prepared in any private clinic,” Khanal added.



According to the hospital administration, two CT-Scan machines have been installed in the hospital recently and one MRI outfit and four video X-ray machines are also operating.

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