Srinagar, July 4 -- In a shocking case that's rattled the medical community in Kashmir, a man posing as a doctor was recently found working at a teaching hospital using forged certificates.

For months, he treated patients. And for months, no one noticed.

As a healthcare quality and patient safety expert, I find this terrifying. The system's most basic safety checks failed: the hospital never properly verified his credentials. They didn't reach out to the original sources of his certificates. They didn't run thorough background checks. And no one seemed to notice the gaps.

When hospitals cut corners on these crucial steps, fake doctors can walk right in and put lives at risk.

This isn't the first time.

A few years ago, another fake do...