Azad wants rate card at all private hospitals

The Centre is mulling to introduce rate cards at all private hospital across the country to stop any fleecing or overcharging of patients by the facilities. Speaking at the XIIth National Seminar on Hospital and Healthcare Management and Medico Legal System in the city, Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government wanted to introduce rate cards at private hospital and government hospitals as well.


It's on the cards: Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad says he
wants to introduce transparency in hospitals to avoid malpractices.
File pic

Elaborating on the idea, Azad said that like a patron to a hotel is handed over a rate card that gives him information on hotel tariffs and other charges, the Centre plans to start a system of rate card at hospitals that
will give detailed information to patients about the charges of different medical services.u00a0

u00a0"Patients should be told clearly about the charges. Most times patients are wary of hidden charges and fear getting admitted to private hospitals. That is why there should be transparency," he said. Azad added that the rate card system would help curb a lot of malpractices, but couldn't give a timeframe or details about implementation of the scheme.

More med colleges
The Union Health Minister also spoke about opening more medical colleges and increasing the number of seats in the existing ones to end the shortage of doctors in the country. "We have relaxed the requirement of land from 20 acres to 10 acres to a start medical college.

Besides that we have allowed one teacher to have two postgraduate medical students instead of one as well as increase the number of medical graduate seats," said Azad. The event was organised by the Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences.