Health ministry tells states to warn hospitals against malpractices
NEWDELHI: The Union health ministry on Wednesday asked all states to issue strict warnings to hospitals, i ncluding private ones, against indulging in malpractices such as overcharging.
The move comes in the wake of allegations that a Gurgaonbased private hospital billed the family of a dengue patient Rs 18 lakh.
In a letter to the chief secretaries, Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan said that alleged malpractices by clinical establishments not only compromise patient safety but also raise concerns about accountability in healthcare costs.
She asked the states to ensure implementation of the Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 under which all hospitals can be reg ulated.
“It is time to learn lessons from such incidents and I advise that a meeting with all important healthcare establishments, including private hospitals, of your state be taken and they be clearly sounded not to indulge in such practices, failing which strict action will be taken.
“I request you to kindly get the clinical establishment act adopted/implemented by your state also,” Sudan said .
Referring to the recent incident in which a 7-year-old girl died of dengue at Fortis hospital, Sudan said it was alleged that the patient was grossly overcharged and standard treatment protocols were not followed.
She also drew attention to the alleged malpractices by various clinical establishments in the recent past.
These i nclude exorbitant charges, deficiency in services, not following the standard treatment protocols resulting not only in compromised patient safety but also concerns about transparency and accountability in healthcare costs, she said.
“Such incidents have an extremely deleterious impact on the faith of the general public in the healthcare system of the country,” the letter said.