Tests: Doctors in Gujarat laud loosened control

AHMEDABAD/SURAT/VADODARA/RAJKOT: The Gujarat government's decision to free Covid-19 testing from government control by allowing tests at private labs on the prescription of doctors with the MD degree has been welcomed by the medical fraternity across the state.
"This is a good step by the government. If a patient needed an operation or if a woman was about to deliver a baby, they had to go to civil hospitals to get the test done, which is risky," said Rajkot's Dr Atul Pandya, the national vice-president, Indian Medical Association (IMA)."Now, on the basis of the doctor's prescription, a patient can get the test done at a private laboratory," Pandya said. "If a patient is asymptomatic and silent carrier and a doctor performs a major planned operation, there is the fear of an immunological storm."
Dr Bharat Gadhvi, the president of Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (AHNA), said that the decision to do away with the government's prior approval for testing has helped patients. "On the first day, several patients were sent for testing. The move will benefit hospitals and patients," he said.
In Vadodara, Dr Chetan Patel, former vice-president of IMA and former president of the Gujarat chapter of IMA, said that removing hospitalization as a mandatory condition will save financial resources of patients. "It will save two-day hospitalization charges for patients. Also, patients can learn if they are Covid-19 at an early stage," said Dr Patel.
In Surat, office-bearers of IMA-Gujarat have demanded that doctors with the MBBS degree should also be given the authority to prescribe the test. Dr Chandresh Jardosh, the president of IMA-Gujarat said, "The first point of contact for patients suffering from any illness are family physicians or MBBS doctors." Jardosh went on to say: " About 75% of patients get treatment from MBBS doctors as their first point of contact. We have written to the state government to allow MBBS doctors to prescribe Covid-19 tests."
Dr Parul Vadgama, president of IMA-Surat told TOI, "The government has rightly empowered doctors to clinically determine whether a patient needs Covid-19 test or not. For any test, doctors had to seek permission from the medical officer of health, who is an administrative officer."