Karnataka government should ensure accreditation of diagnostic laboratories across the State and announce guidelines for running labs, according to Dr. B. G. Desai, director, state directorate of health and family welfare. There is no licensing authority to approve the setting up of a diagnostic centres. Even the Medical Council of India (MCI) does not look into the quality of diagnostic clinics operating in the state.

Dr. Desai said that there has been no effort to formulate guidelines for running diagnostic centres in the state. With the result, the labs are coming up without the permission of the health department. "All that we see across the state is that even in a crammed and dingy space, diagnostic activities are flourishing," he added.

The Karnataka Chapter of Indian Association of Pathologists (KCIAPM) has no resources or the manpower to lobby for a set of guidelines for diagnostic centres. It is however aiming to upgrade the skills of the pathologists by organising annual state level conventions at various teaching colleges across the state, Dr. Sujay Prasad, secretary, KCIAPM told pharmabiz.com

It is the State government that needs to take the first step towards formulating and finalising a policy for the diagnostic labs. According to Dr. Prasad, there are no exact numbers available with KCIAPM on the total number of diagnostic centres in the State. A rough estimate places the total number at 15,000 in the state and 5,000 in Bangalore. The parameters on the quality of a lab are based on word of mouth by patients or their families as there is no concrete validation of quality for a centre even if it is equipped with the latest testing equipment.

"We want the government to take the first move to formulate norms for setting up diagnostic centres and KCIAPM will support the effort. It is important for the government to chalk out a set of guidelines for operating the diagnostic labs so that uniform reports are generated and patients could benefit from faster diagnosis and right line of treatment, said Dr. SK Shankar, president, KCIAPM and professor & head, department of neuro pathology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS).

"There is a need to evolve a mechanism across the State to streamline the operations of a laboratory and if it is not done the reports of tests will continue to differ and patients will be made to pay different rates for each tests as he is referred from lab to lab for getting the right diagnosis, said a cross section of doctors at hospitals across the state.

In Bangalore alone, there are serious errors in readings and constant complaints on poor methods of blood draws, the situation in diagnostic centres in the districts could be worse, expressed a few general practitioners in the city.

Although the KCIAPM is represented by 480 members 40 per cent of them are in private practise and the remaining are teaching professors at medical colleges. According to pathology heads at the Bangalore Medical College, Ramaiah Medical College and the Ambedkar Medical College, the curriculum for pathology cannot be disputed as there are large numbers of competent pathologists graduating from medical schools and recognised for excellent work. The need of the hour is to standardise quality control and issue norms for opening centres. The National Accreditation for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) could step in to check the unregulated emergence of diagnostic centres across the country, they stated.

KCIAPM is conducting its 31st Annual state level conference at the Kasturba Medical College from October 17 to 19, 2003.But the topics covered for the session are scientific and there is no scope provided to deliberate on the operating procedures of labs, said Dr. Prasad. This was mainly because the members representing KCIAPM favour academic interactions more than accreditation initiatives which is now in the hands of the government to handle the situation.