Doctors in India meet to condemn practice of paying referral kickbacks to GPs

Doctors in India have publicly condemned the payment of commissions to fellow doctors who refer patients to them for diagnosis, treatment, or surgery, and are seeking government intervention to curb the practice.

Doctors from across the country publicly decried the practice at a meeting on 28 June. The meeting was called by the Asian Heart Institute, a private hospital in Mumbai that has stirred controversy by placing billboards across the city saying that its doctors do not pay or receive commissions.

Many believe that stopping these commissions, or “cut practice” as it is called, would help reduce patients’ expenses by up to 25%.

While doctors may have privately shared concerns about cuts, the …