FORTIS CHARGED 1,700% MORE
FORTIS DENIES CHARGE Hospital says it informed the 7yearold girl’s family about bill amount on a daily basis
Fortis hospital at Gurgaon charged as high as 1,700% margin on consumables and medicines from a dengue patient who subsequently died of the illness, a report said.
NEWDELHI: Fortis hospital at Gurgaon charged as high as 1,700% margin on consumables and medicines used for the treatment of a dengue patient who subsequently died of the illness, the national pharmaceutical pricing authority (NPPA) said on Saturday.
The Fortis Healthcare, however, claimed there had been “no violation of the Drug Price Control Orders”.
The family of the 7-year-old girl had last month alleged that they were overcharged by FMRI, with the bill amounting to around ₹16 lakh.
The incident had sparked outrage, with the Haryana government forming a probe team after union health minister J P Nadda sought a report from the hospital.
Fortis memorial research institute, Gurgaon, charged a margin of up to 1,737% on procurement price on a three-way stop cock, the regulator said.
The procurement price of the consumable per unit stood at ₹5.77 while the hospital charged ₹106 per unit for the product, it added. The consumables listed by the NPPA included items such as syringes, gloves and towels among others.
The three-member committee, probing the circumstances under which the girl died in September, in a report submitted to the state government earlier this month had found “several irregularities”, including protocols not being followed by the hospital in the case.
The hospital had refuted allegations that it had overcharged the family, claiming the patient’s kin was informed about the bill amount on a daily basis. “It should also be noted that our (Fortis) end price to the patient is very much in line with what other private hospitals in India charge. Looking at individual prices of any single item as a stand alone, takes the margin/profit topic out of context,” the hospital group said in the statement.
Last month, the NPPA had asked Fortis Healthcare to provide copies of bills in relation to allegations that its Gurgaonbased hospital overcharged the family of a seven-year old girl, who died of dengue.
Regarding the non-scheduled formulations, the NPPA said the hospital charged the family a margin as high as 914%.
Elaborating, the NPPA said the hospital charged ₹287.50 for Dotamin 200 mg whose procurement price per unit stood at ₹28.35, a margin of 914%.
Fortis also charged ₹3,112.50 for Merocrit 1 GM thus charging a margin of 670%. The hospital had procured the formulation at ₹404.32 per unit, the regulator said. Regarding the scheduled formulations which are under the ambit of price control, the NPPA said the hospital charged up to 343% from the family of Adya.The per unit procurement price of Tranemic by the hospital stood at ₹15.75 while it was billed at ₹69.77 per unit to the family.
The regulator gave a list of 39 scheduled formulations, 41 nonscheduled formulations and 96 consumables that were used for the treatment of Adya.
“NPPA shall be taking necessary follow up action as per existing law and with in its jurisdiction,” the regulator said.
CONSUMABLES LISTED BY THE NATIONAL AUTHORITY INCLUDED ITEMS SUCH AS SYRINGES, GLOVES, TOWELS AMONG OTHERS