Denial of patients’ right Reform with result

With reference to Veena Mani’s report, “Hospitals charging over 500% for angioplasty devices: Maharashtra FDA” (July 11), apart from overcharging, hospitals are reluctant to part with patients’ medical records although they have a right over them.

Patients trying to get these records will face a “Chinese wall”. They are not allowed to even read their medical records. Even after a patient’s death, the records are not given to his or her family, on the pretext that these would be used for research. If a patient is admitted to a hospital, specialists who the patient has not even asked for, visit him or her, and their visiting charges (~1,000 or more) are added to the patient’s bill — a novel method of fleecing.

The UK has the Data Protection Act, under which patients can demand their medical records from a hospital. India needs such a law. Quality health care at affordable rates still remains a luxury for a large section of the population.

Deendayal M Lulla Mumbai lines. The symbolism of the killings is frightening and accentuates religious fault lines. Still, we must cling to the notion of common humanity and refuse to play into the hands of militants and religious extremists.

Some say the attack was a failure of the state machinery, but the fact is, it was something more than that — it was a failure of the imagination as well. The source of the problem resides in the fact that we often fail to imagine the lives of others, their cultures and religions and are unable to respect what is alien to our own experience.

Religious tolerance is necessary to prevent the collapse of relationships and the descent into hell. Unrest in the Valley is a reality; it has to be dealt with by addressing its root causes. The government should initiate dialogue with disaffected Kashmiris and take steps to fulfil their genuine political aspirations. It is futile to rely on the military and its harsh methods for an enduring solution.

G David Milton Maruthancode Apropos Debashis Basu’s column, “Bad loans: The bungling and farce continues” (July 10), despite various measures by the government and the Reserve Bank of India, the natality rate of bad loans far exceeded the mortality rate, leading to the current pile-up of huge stock.

Experiments and measures undertaken have hardly fetched results. This points to the fact that the executed measures or reforms are neither effective nor relevant.

The cascading effect of elevated bad loans is explicit in every segment of the economy. At a time when the economy is starved of investment, undeterred growth of bad loans is pulling down credit expansion and investment.

Demand for credit has to be created and investment for manufacturing activities should get priority. Quality credit, its speedy delivery and timely recovery are of paramount importance to bankers.

The government and the banking regulator should initiate necessary action to ensure continuous coordination between various agencies to stem the growth of bad loans.

V S K Pillai Changanacherry