Rajasthan Diagnostic Errors: Wrong Pregnancy, Hepatitis Reports Trigger Probe

A series of diagnostic errors in Rajasthan has raised serious concerns about the reliability of free medical testing under the Mother-Hub and Spoke model implemented through the National Health Mission .

In a shocking incident in Alwar, an unmarried woman was wrongly declared pregnant due to a report mix-up involving multiple patients with the same name. Hospital authorities later clarified that the error occurred due to heavy patient load and failure to properly verify identification details. The report was corrected, and action has been taken against staff members involved.

In another case in Tonk, a patient was incorrectly diagnosed as Hepatitis C positive due to a data entry mistake by a lab technician. The error was identified after a repeat test returned negative, and a show-cause notice has been issued.

A third case from Udaipur revealed that a patient received two conflicting reports on the same day. Investigations found that a single, untrained staff member was handling multiple responsibilities, including sampling, data entry, and report generation.

The Rajasthan Health Department has acknowledged negligence in certain cases and ordered a detailed probe. Health Director Dr. Ravi Prakash Sharma confirmed that notices have been issued to service providers and corrective measures are being implemented.

Officials have identified key reasons behind these errors, including staff shortages, excessive workload, lack of proper training, and negligence in handling reports. Meanwhile, Krishna Diagnostic Lab Private Limited, the firm responsible for managing testing services across the state, has denied any irregularities, stating that only certified technicians are deployed.