Lab technicians cannot sign test reports, says HC

The Delhi High Court (HC) has now restricted the lab technicians to merely conducting pathology tests and noting the results. The conversion of this data into a report, which includes interpretations of the technical analysis, will henceforth be done only by a pathologist registered with the Medical Council of India (MCI).

Justice Vibhu Bakhru pronounced the order on the heels of a petition filed by an association of lab technicians, which submitted that they were skilled professionals.

The Association of Clinical Biochemists and Microbiologists had filed the present petition, in response to a letter issued by the MCI that highlighted the decision of its Executive Committee that "all lab reports to be signed/countersigned by persons registered with MCI/State Medical Council".

The petitioners stated that the association members were highly qualified and engaged in the activity of laboratory testing. However, since they do not have an MBBS or MD degree, they are not registered with the MCI or the State Medical Councils. They added that conducting laboratory tests and submitting reports are essentially skilled tasks, for which the association members are qualified enough, and it is not necessary that the reports submitted by them be countersigned by a medical practitioner.