Private HIV testing Centers. A case of Ranbaxy in Calcutta

[Guest guest]

Hello from North India to the list,

My main reason for responding to this email was because of the reference to

Cipla and Ranbaxy as the leading suppliers of AIDS drugs in India and with a

considerable and profitable private testing services to Indians.

I was in Calcutta without a phone contact for the West Bengal State

Aids Control Council Director. I know how futile it is to try to locate a

phone directory service in India and ask for a number.

As I was pondering who and how I might solve my problem I noticed a very

busy Ranbaxy office in the heart of Calcutta so I joined the queue which was

a very enlightening experience as to how confidentiality is consistently

breached by a receptionist with a very loud and officious voice.

Whilst I was waiting my turn I knew what every patient was being tested for who

was ahead of me and watched some very frustrated people who had come back for

results and no one appeared to be designated to help them.

Then it became my turn in the queue and I patiently asked if there was

someone who could be asked for a phone contact into the West Bengal State

AIDS Control Society (WBSACS) so I could solve my contact problem and the same

receptionist said she had never heard of it. I asked her if she had some

doctors on the staff who might know and she said that doctors were there

processing testing instructions and despite waiting for was seemed like an

embarrassing time for all the staff who worked there I was eventually told

that there was no one who knew about WBSACS at Ranbaxy.

My question related to the various levels of approval for the necessary

quality control of their life saving medicines is that if they have no one

sensitive to be able to identify WBSACS what might their response to a

presenting tested patient whose results maybe distressing.

I left the office getting no satisfaction but really wondering if even in

these private testing centres there is a need for a fairly radical overhaul

of pre and post testing counselling and resource information coupled with

much more due diligence to the issue of confidentiality.

Postive groups in West Bengal should be offering sensitivity training but

judging by my level of competence in being able to ask for information and

couch my questions in language that was sensitive the level of training for

the counter staff not to mention the exposed records that could be read by

many more people than should have access to test results or even which tests

were ordered would make it a very intensive training indeed.

Geoffrey

E-mail: <gheaviside@...>

[Guest guest]

Dear Geoffrey,

You have brought up a theme of great importance.

The World Bank for a decade and more has been pushing the GoI and the State

governments toward reforms in the health sector. Toward this end, they have

managed to co-opt some of the best researchers to contribute research papers

and have come up with 'Health Systems Development for the Poor in India' banner

under which several state governments have been funded.

I differ radically with most of their 'orders', 'conditionalities' or what

ever you may wish to call it. Under this process, several huge hospitals

have been given away to private companies with a largesse of money. This

whole project does not go below rural referral hospitals which means it does

not touch 70% of the population. Hence I am against it.

However, there is one point in this whole process and project that I could

not disagree. The need for medical ethical norms and oversight.

Fortunately there have been two strong movements in India:

Medical ethics - there is a journal brought out by an eminent surgeon

Rational therapeutics - Dr.Unnikrishnan long time ago moved this as part of

People's Health Movement in Bangladesh and much progress has been made.

Though the goons of pharmaceutical industry always have their way through

any Ministry of any government in the country.

I wish everyone in this group thinks about this issue of norms for private

'health' providers; I would be the keenest reader of responses.

BRITTO

Director:NARC

E-mail: <britto@...>