Drug, hospital costs push bill to ₹10 lakh

DOCTORS CITE HIGH COST OF THE LIPOSOMAL AMPHOTERICIN B DRUG, WHICH IS INFUSED EVERY DAY FOR 2 WEEKS

GURUGRAM: Even as the district health department directed private hospitals to set up day-care facilities to make treatments affordable for mucormycosis (black fungus) patients, many are spending about ₹10-12 lakh at private super-speciality hospitals in the absence of government facilities.

Doctors concurred that the treatment cost is high as multiple vials of the main drug used in the treatment, Liposomal Amphotericin B — a 50mg vial of which costs ₹6,000 — have to be administered daily for at least two weeks.

“A patient has to take four to six vials, every day, based on the body weight, for at least two weeks,” said Dr Dhirendra Singh Kushwah, consultant, ENT, Narayana super speciality hospital in Sector 24.

Patients said that besides spending over ₹3 lakh solely on the drug, they have to shell out ₹5-7 lakh for other medicines and the hospital charges for two weeks.

Currently, at least 180 cases are under treatment in the district, according to the district health department data.

To reduce the treatment cost, on May 10, the district health department directed private hospitals to set up a day-care facility for administering the Amphotericin B drug. The price of the facility has been capped at ₹2,000 per day for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and healthcare providers (NABH) and at ₹1,500 at NONNABH facilities.

Dr Rahul Bhargava, principal director, Hematology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurugram, said, “Infusion of Amphotericin-b along with other fluids and potassium takes at least six hours, which used to cost roughly about ₹8,000. Following the line of treatment where a patient will need to visit the hospital for four weeks, the overall cost of the facility adds up to ₹2,40,000. By capping the price, the cost comes down to ₹60,000.”

According to him, expenditure on the treatment of one black fungus case is equivalent to treating at least 10-15 Covid-19 patients. Hira Singh, 44, of Rewari district, who took underwent nose surgery at a private hospital on May 18 after getting infected with black fungus has spent almost ₹12 lakh on treatment.