A Nashik-based pathologist has been suspended for signing reports at several laboratories despite being a full-time faculty at a dental college. The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) said that Dr. Sanjay Shinde was found to be attached to multiple laboratories within a 30 to 160 km radius.

MMC president, Dr. Shivkumar Utture, said that pathologists are required to supervise the tests and the reports personally before signing them. However, in this case, the pathologist neither supervised nor interpreted the findings in reports on which his signatures were present.

Dr. Parsad Kulkarni, executive member of the Maharashtra Association of Practicing Pathologists and Microbiologists (MAPPM), said that this case was a clear example where a pathologist has lent his signature to multiple labs. Dr. Kulkarni said that Dr. Shinde was found to be attached to nearly 25 laboratories. This is troubling as the course of treatment for patients depends on the laboratory reports. Dr. Kulkarni added that this is the fifth suspension of a pathologist in similar cases since 2016. He stated that at least four more such complaints filed by them are pending with the MMC.