Only qualified docs can sign lab reports: MCI

A pathology report can only be signed by a qualified doctor registered with the Medical Council of India (MCI). The MCI in it’s latest order has specified that “All reports/letters have to be signed/countersigned by persons registered with MCI/State Councils”. MCI issued the statement in response to a three-year-old query from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), which is a constituent board of Quality Council of India.

It wanted to  know if M.Sc-PhD candidates not registered with the MCI can sign lab reports. This would include experts with PhD degrees in medical microbiology, medical biochemistry, life sciences, applied biology, cytogenetics and biotechnology.

“The ethics committee considered the matter during its meetings on February 6 and 7, and their decision was placed before Executive Committee for approval on April 11,” said Dr Parul Goel, Deputy Secretary, MCI. The order impacts pathological laboratories across India.

Following their decision, from June 14, 2017, labs report can only be signed by qualified doctors and not by M.Sc-PhD fellows. “This means reports signed by non-doctors after the said date will be illegal in the eyes of law,” said Pune-based advocate Rohit Erande. Meanwhile, opinion of the health ministry is being sought on the matter. Malpractices involving lab technicians signing pathology reports are rife in India.

“In many cases, approving signatures on a wrong analysis result in false positives of dengue or malaria and have led to wrong treatment,” said Dr Rajesh Mane of Maharashtra Association of Practicing Pathologists and Microbiologists (MAPPM), an umbrella body of qualified pathologists.