Srinagar, Jun 20: A major alleged medical malpractice case has surfaced at Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag, with the Jammu and Kashmir Health and Medical Education Department initiating disciplinary proceedings against a cardiologist after an expert audit found that nearly half of the patients who underwent a specialised pacemaker procedure did not medically require it.
As learnt by Alfaaz – The Words, the official documents reveal that 27 of the 55 patients, about 49 percent, who underwent the highly specialised Left Bundle Branch Area Pacing (LBBAP) procedure were found to have normal left ventricular function and wide QRS morphology, leaving no clinical indication for the intervention.
The doctor facing departmental action has been identified as Dr Syed Maqbool, Cardiologist at GMC Anantnag.
According to the findings, the irregularities came to light after the State Health Agency detected an unusual spike in LBBAP procedures and referred the cases to the Head of the Department of Cardiology at SKIMS, Soura, for an independent expert review.
The expert committee concluded that LBBAP is a highly specialised procedure with strict clinical indications and is meant only for patients with specific cardiac abnormalities. However, a clinical audit found that 27 patients did not satisfy those criteria, following which the State Health Agency rejected the claims.
The inquiry further alleges that cross verification of online Treatment Management System (TMS) claims with the Cath Lab procedure register revealed false procedural descriptions, with procedures allegedly recorded under a different pacemaker category for reimbursement purposes.
The departmental findings also accuse the cardiologist of bypassing the government supply chain and collecting money from patients despite their entitlement to free treatment under the government healthcare scheme.
Describing the conduct as “flagrant procedural misrepresentation”, the Health and Medical Education Department maintained that the acts constituted gross abuse of official position, failure to maintain devotion to duty and serious medical malpractice.
On the basis of these findings, the department has initiated disciplinary proceedings against the cardiologist, observing that the alleged misconduct is grave enough to warrant major penalty proceedings, including termination from service.
