Pvt hospitals may be asked to cut profit margins, give drugs only from govt list
NEW DELHI: Private hospitals should only prescribe from the list of 376 drugs on the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), and not charge a premium of more than 15% over market rates on diagnostic tests they conduct, according to the nine-member committee set up by the Delhi government.
The panel, headed by Delhi’s director general of health services, was formed in December after reports of medical negligence at Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh and overcharging at Fortis hospital in Gurgaon. For drugs and consumables not on the NLEM, the panel recommended that private hospitals be allowed to charge a profit of not more than 50% on the procurement price. Hospitals procure drugs and consumables at a fraction of the MRP, often as little as 20-30% of the printed price.
“This will make a huge difference. The drug price control orders fix the rates of NLEM drugs by calculating a market average of the selling price of drugs in a particular category, ensuring some profit for manufacturers but not too much,” said Professor Vijay Bhalla, director, SGT College of Pharmacy, Gurgaon.