Fake tests, substandard drugs rampant in private healthcare: Meda Srinivas

Rajahmundry: “Corporate hospitals have turned medicine into a path to the graveyard,” alleged Meda Srinivas, Founding President of the Rashtriya Praja Congress (RPC), during the party’s weekend meeting on Sunday at the RPC headquarters. Srinivas sharply criticized the growing commercialization of the healthcare sector, accusing private and corporate hospitals of exploiting patients through fake tests, substandard medicines, and unnecessary treatments.

Corporate medicine under fire

In his address, Srinivas said corporate hospitals are misleading patients with excessive medical tests and costly treatments that weaken rather than heal. “Many of today’s doctors have become fake criminals in white coats,” he remarked, questioning whether modern medicine is improving or damaging people’s health.

He alleged that even minor illnesses are being inflated into major ailments for profit. “Patients are being used as raw material for corporate medicine,” he said, claiming that several hospitals charge lakhs of rupees for basic illnesses without offering any guarantee of recovery.

Erosion of natural immunity

Srinivas warned that modern treatment practices are destroying the body’s natural immunity. “Some tablets used to cure one problem lead to new diseases,” he said, adding that both the production process of certain medicines and over-prescription by doctors are contributing factors. He observed that diseases which traditionally subsided naturally within a few days are now being prolonged due to unnecessary chemical intervention.

Fake tests and substandard medicines

The RPC President accused several hospitals and laboratories of operating without proper licenses, issuing fake reports, and playing with patients’ lives. “False diagnoses and corruption in the pharmaceutical sector are endangering public health,” he said, blaming the authorities for encouraging unqualified drug manufacturers. He further alleged that “unlicensed pharmaceutical companies” are flooding the market with substandard medicines, causing severe health complications among unsuspecting patients.

Call for accountability

Srinivas questioned why no action has been taken against hospital administrators who charge exorbitant fees without medical assurance. “Shouldn’t there be accountability for those who collect crores under the guise of corporate healthcare?” he asked. He added that even with advanced diagnostics, today’s doctors are unable to diagnose minor illnesses without multiple scans and tests. “Instead of transparency, there is deception at every level,” he said.

A plea for ethical medicine

Comparing traditional and modern practices, Srinivas said that earlier generations relied on home remedies and experience rather than excessive medication. “The grandmothers’ medicine from our kitchens did more healing than today’s expensive prescriptions,” he said. He accused corporate hospitals of turning patients into lifelong dependents on drugs, stating, “Medicine that makes one addicted instead of cured cannot be called medicine.”

Warning against growing health crisis

Citing various survey reports, Srinivas alleged that nearly 80% of modern diseases—including diabetes, blood pressure, and kidney disorders—are a result of excessive drug dependency. “A scientific conspiracy supported by corporate powers is destroying the pure immunity in the human body,” he said, urging immediate government action.

The meeting was chaired by RPC Senior Secular Pendyala Kamaraju and attended by RPC secular leaders DV Ramana Murthy, Simma Durga Rao, Dudde Suresh, Vardhanapu Sarath Kumar, Valli Srinivasa Rao, and others. The gathering concluded with a call to restore ethics, transparency, and public trust in India’s healthcare system.