TIME TO RETHINK ON DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY SERVICES? The Medical council of India made the new regulations on the laboratory medicine that the reports to be signed by MCI registered professionals, Antimicrobial resistance is great concern to every one as at progress to spread of MDR strains circulating without effective Infection control programs the greater challenges await from ICU patients needing effective diagnostic services, in truth most patients in Critical care dependent of effective laboratory service Certainly diagnostic Microbiology is in poor state with many Medically qualified people have left the matters to science graduates, it is true happening in many private medical colleges, where the management appoint MSc to save money and run the system, as the so called seniors and retired come 2 to 3 day in a week, and enjoy the regulations of Medical council of India, it is true to my experience TOM DICK and Harry decide the matters, about the laboratory size and Bio safety, I fought on many occasions with administrators that the Laboratories should be under the control of Heads and Professors, and management are appointing some BSc or MSc personal as lab administrators, however it should not have happened when the seniors ascertained role as professors and above many matters are compromised due to expensive chemicals and media and many times the diagnostic microbiology laboratories do not have few essential things to identify the common infecting agents, up to GENUS LEVEL majority of the Antibiograms are of performed without standard operating procedures and if we are sincere our careers end with many disappointments, We come across many seniors and Professors, just live and create many problems, it all happens, many retired just come to supervise and nothing happens, they declare they have no rules and enjoying the boot and enjoy leave is the only game many are playing they find the path of least resistance to avoid the work, It is certainly time re think what is the true purpose of us as Seniors and Professors, doing a signature on laboratory REPORTS may not improve the matters, unless the laboratory directors and Heads take responsibility certainly one day the laboratories may be blamed for the untimely death of patients, Above all the responsibility of the clinicians is immense they should demand better services form the diagnostic microbiology and just it cannot be blame game for long.
JUST THINK WHOSE LIFE IT IS?
TIME TO IMPROVE THE DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES ?
Dr.T.V.Rao MD Professor of Microbiology