Delhi medical M.Sc. teachers meet Nadda

New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) A delegation of National M.Sc. Medical Teachers' Association (NMMTA) on Friday met Health Minister J.P. Nadda and sought his intervention in getting the medical M.Sc. teachers authorisation to sign diagnostic laboratory reports instead of doctors.

According to NMMTA, medical M.Sc. degree holders in the subjects of Biochemistry and Microbiology have been working as consultants (Microbiologists or Biochemists) in both private and government diagnostic laboratories since decades.

"The training imparted to the medical M.Sc. students in the medical colleges, which is at par with the doctors with MD in the same subjects, have empowered them to undertake this role efficiently," said NMMTA Secretary Arjun Maitra.

Earlier, in a communication to the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), the Medical Council of India (MCI) wrote that only persons registered with MCI or State Medical Council should sign/countersign laboratory reports.

However, following widespread outrage, NABL reverted to its previous guidelines of giving signatory authority to medical M.Sc. degree holders.

"MCI's letter to NABL has been misconstrued as MCI's order and is being misused to deny signatory roles to medical M.Sc. Biochemists and Microbiologists. MCI has clarified that it has no jurisdiction over private hospitals, nursing homes and diagnostic laboratories, yet it takes the liberty to opine on who should sign the laboratory test reports," said Maitra.

The NMMTA said that the only authority to decide who should sign the laboratory reports rests with the guidelines of the state or central Clinical Establishments Acts and not the MCI.

Stating that an attempt is being made to wrongly project laboratory services as the practise of medicine, the NMMTA, citing the Indian Medical Council Act, said doctors should only sign or authenticate a medical or fitness certificate or any other certificate required by any law.