Regulating Private Hospitals

 The Delhi government’s Health Department will re-examine the draft policy framed by a committee to regularize the functioning of private hospitals in the capital, to understand the ‘rationale’ behind some of the suggestions. The draft advisory was prepared on the basis of recommendations by a nine-member expert panel, headed by Director-General of Health Services Kirti Bhushan. The panel was formed on December 13 last year, after a family alleged medical negligence a private hospital for wrongly declaring a baby dead. The Indian Express quoting sources said, senior officials in the department are not satisfied with the draft policy and want the committee to work again on the entire report. On May 28, the Delhi government had proposed regulations restricting private hospitals and nursing homes from marking up prices of medicines and consumables over 50 percent of their procurement price. The draft was placed in the public domain for 30 days and suggestions were invited. The draft advisory suggested that private hospitals can charge patients the maximum retail price for medicines under the National List of Essential Medicines, 2015, as their prices have already been capped. The draft was ideally to be submitted by the end of June. It is already delayed by four months now.

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