Insurance Malpractice

It is a modernization step aimed to help patients and avoid grave medical missteps. However, with the involvement of big money, it is only a matter of time before gross miscarriages of justice will be the order in a department where 84 percent of doctors are expatriates. It may open the door to many abuses.

Firstly, in the absence of medical-malpractice attorneys and Western-style courts, there is a high possibility of patients, hospital administrations and insurance company staff colluding for financial gains at the cost of doctors. Secondly, the failure of the Ministry of Health to give policies determining medical malpractice responsibilities will allow the victimization of the weakest in the chain — the patient or the doctor — leaving the insurance company, the Mutabia (legal dept) and hospital administration to reap profits.

According to Ministry of Health policy, patients are treated under the name of consultants — by them personally or by junior staff —according to the approved plan given by the consultant. In practice, however, junior doctors and specialists follow orders, including surgeries, and in case of complication, a case is registered against everyone who has examined or touched the patient from day one to the last day, except the concerned consultant. This is a violation of Ministry of Health law. The designed Ministry of Health system expects consultants to write orders and the junior staff to execute them. It is the consultant who is responsible for positive and negative results. But over a period of time the pyramid has been inverted and junior staff — from nurses up to specialists — are dragged into the case instead of the consultant.

As per Ministry of Health laws and Western precedence, the settlement of legal issues is the responsibility of the hospital administration and the Mutabia, which are supposed to settle medico-legal cases with the help of the concerned consultant. The concerned consultants-doctors’ panel, after in-house investigation, formulates a medical opinion for the settlement of the case. In the prevalent culture of ignoring Ministry of Health policies and laws, there is little hope that an influential insurance system, which is nothing more than a milking machine, will actually compensate victims and/or protect doctors. No wonder insurance companies offering malpractice insurance are posting over 100 percent profits.

Rizwan Ghani, Abha published 19 May 2008

Home Ground Advantage

Last year during the judicial sackings, the former Chief Justice Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was not very popular in city of Karachi and still he is not the popular figure in Karachi.

In the last election the people of Karachi once again give their mandate to MQM.

The MQM did support President Mushraf policies over Chaudhry Iftikhar.

Last year in this situation, why did opposition/judges choose city of Karachi for their final round of their rallies?

If you see any sports event, host team always arrange final rounds in the place they have more support. In sports terminology this is called "home ground advantage".

Does anyone think Karachi was the home ground for the last year judicial movement?

Also in the last elections all political parties arranged their final rally at their strong holds.

Do you see how smart they are? They understand very well the home ground terminology.

But on May 12, 2007, why did opposition/judges choose Karachi for their final round for their judicial battle? If we understand, we will understand whole scenario.

I urge government and media to uncover the faces that made decision to do final round of their political movement at Karachi, which has no support for their movement and it ends up with loads of dead people.

Dawar Naqvi, Torrance, CA published 19 May 2008

Credit Card Traps

I would like you, as a leading newspaper, to carry a story on credit cards issued by various banks. I would like you to investigate what precautions these banks are taking to safeguard the interests of an innocent consumer. I have come across some very irresponsible behavior from a reputable bank for a family member of mine who was a novice when it came to using a credit card. Someone has cheated him out of almost SR 7,000 just because when the bank reissued his credit card, it never reached him. Since he was never an active user, he learned about it only when the fraud had been committed.

All over the world, reissued cards or new ones get active only when the consumer calls the bank that he/she has received it from and the bank identifies the individual through their personal information.

Further, in this case, the bank did not cooperate in investigating the matter. Since the transaction was done at a very famous resort in Jeddah, it would be very easy for the bank to identify the individual if it had taken any interest. Instead, my relative received a letter stating simply that “Since you informed us late that you had lost your card, we apologize but this transaction will not be reversed.” We have been calling the customer service and faxing letters but to no avail. What we receive as a response is that the case is closed.

Before we could get over the shock of the experience, I got another. On Thursday, May 8, while checking my statement online, I came across two strange transactions which were not carried out by me. Both were for over SR 2000 and both were showing STC bill payment. I immediately made a call to the toll-free number to report the matter but the agent refused to take my complaint and, instead, asked me to send a fax and gave me a fax number which kept ringing all through the weekend and started to work only in the early hours of Saturday.

Finally my complaint was registered on Saturday morning, on May 10. I am yet to receive a concrete response. Being a pro-active user of the credit card, I know how to fight my battle. But I feel really concerned for thousands and thousands of novice users of credit card who do not know how these banks are operating and how they are losing their hard-earned money at the hands of these big banks.

Meraj M. Siddiqui, Jeddah published 19 May 2008

Haj Services

Reports such as Wael Abdullah’s “Poor Haj Services Anger Governor” (May 14) will keep Haj operators on their toes, giving them notice that their performance is being monitored at high levels. It is part of good management to identify shortcomings in the past and take action to improve them. However, what I have noticed over the years is that there is no system of accountability, with the result that those who extend outstanding service and those who do absolutely nothing are treated in the same manner when the next Haj comes round. If a group or division does well, that should be recognized and rewarded and those whose services are incompetent should be punished.

That is the only way the services will improve.

Mehboob Ali Khan, Riyadh published 19 May 2008

Dhaka Emergency

What does Abeed Khan, who, in his letter “Dhaka Emergency” (May 14), mounted a vehement attack on the interim government in Bangladesh, really want for the country? For it to remain in the hands of corrupt leaders? His comparison of the situations in Pakistan and Bangladesh was misguided. He must understand that there is no similarity between them. In Pakistan, corrupt leaders were invited to make a new government; in Bangladesh they are behind bars.

Many others argue, as he does, that there are other corrupt people who have not been arrested and that it proves that the government is not impartial. If that logic were to be accepted, all governments and law-enforcement bodies anywhere in the world would be proved partial because it is impossible for any one to arrest all criminals. Moreover, it would make no sense to free one criminal because other criminals cannot be arrested.

The charge that the present government is not performing well is wrong. For the first time in its recent history, Bangladesh has had a bumper yield of rice, potatoes, wheat and other farm products because the supply of fertilizers and water was ensured to even remote villages. Such a thing never happened in the time of previous governments. Exports have increased by 21 percent in the last l0 months compared to last year. The Storm Sidr was handled very efficiently and funds were distributed to the people concerned. Foreign remittance has increased and the reserve has doubled. If this is not good performance, what is?

Finally, elections are being held in December this year. What is Abeed’s worry? Does he fear that when elections are conducted freely and fairly, without muscle power, most of our “leaders” will be out forever from politics and maybe, who knows, into a life behind bars?

Rafiq Uz Zaman, Jeddah published 19 May 2008

Hypocrisy, Not Democracy

In the last paragraph of his article “Pakistan Revisited — II: A Day in a Den of Intrigue” (May 13), Tariq A. Al-Maeena wrote, “..... What I found fascinating however was that in that coffee shop each of these individuals would warmly greet others who were on the opposite spectrum of the political sphere. But then, isn’t that what democracy is all about?”

Let me tell him, “No. It is not democracy, it is hypocrisy at its worst. These people are actually friends of each other. The arrangement works like this: At any one time, some of them are in power and they take care of those who are not in power. And when the wheel turns and their roles change, they still take care of each other — in the reverse order. Everyone knows how “clean” he and his opponent are. They know each other’s weaknesses and will protect each other.

Saad Mansoor, Riyadh published 19 May 2008

Out of Touch

How out of touch with reality can George W. Bush be to commit 300 million Americans (most of whom hate his guts) to support the rogue terrorist State of Israel in its attempted conquest of the Middle East? And have the nerve to suggest that if Saudi Arabia were to increase its oil production that that would somehow overcome the Israelis and his constant threat to bring all-out war to the region (which is the driving force behind the upward spiral of the price of crude and eventually American and world gasoline)?

Bush seems to be living-up to his latest description here at home that he has the mind of a "two-year-old."

Kids shouldn't play with matches and American presidents shouldn't play with civilian-killing war.

Ed Friedemann published 19 May 2008