Post ‘Munnabhai’ case, MCI to have medicos’ registration numbers online

After a case of a fake doctor working at Bombay Hospital came to light last week, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has decided to have an online database of doctors’ registration numbers. This will make it easier for hospitals to crosscheck details at the time of recruitment.

An MCI official MCI said, “Every hospital should crosscheck a doctor’s registration number with the MCI. While there are several hospitals which follow this practice, there are others who don’t. For their convenience, we are soon going to have an online verification format.”

This development has taken place after Zuber Qureshi, a medical college dropout, assumed his old classmate Meraj Shaikh’s identity and used his documents to secure a junior resident doctor’s post at the hospital. He worked there for nearly six years before the police arrested him last week.

Following the case, Bombay Hospital has decided to only hire candidates with strong credentials. Currently, junior doctors are hired on the basis of their documentation. “We plan to start getting at least two cross references for junior doctors. We also plan to crosscheck their SSC and HSC certificates,” said Dr DP Vyas, medical director, Bombay Hospital.

Other city hospitals, too, stress the need to have a stringent recruitment procedure for fresh medical pass-outs. Dr S Narayani, medical head medical services, Fortis, said: “While many hospitals just check the certificates given by the doctors, we follow the accreditation norms of the Joint Commission International.

Candidates’ credentials are thoroughly checked at the time of recruitment. We maintain a file of all the doctors working with us. We verify the registration number with the MCI and also send a letter to the body. We go ahead with the recruitment only after we receive a reply from it.”

Dr Gustad Davar, director of professional services, Jaslok Hospital, said, “Stringent action should be taken against people who indulge in such forgeries. This will discourage others too. We scrutinise candidates’ certificates at the time of recruitment. We also seek a reference from senior doctors before hiring. A panel of doctors interviews the applicant and goes through his work.”

AV Giri, joint commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said, “It is the hospitals’ responsibility to check the documents before they recruit doctors, as we take action only when we get complaints. A year ago, when we got complaints about quacks, we started a drive against them. But this doesn’t include private hospitals.”