Maha to discuss regulations for catheter use with Centre

The Maharashtra government would discuss the issue of framing regulations for use of catheters, Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Minister Girish Bapat said today.

Minister of State for FDA Madan Yerawar had announced in the Budget session of state legislature that cases had been lodged against several private hospitals for overcharging patients for catheters, and in some cases for reusing them.

Referring to these cases, Bapat said, "The Centre has already capped the prices of some equipment (such as coronary stents) but prices of other medical equipment are still unregulated. The state government needs to discuss these issues with the Centre to come up with more clear policy and guidelines.

"Hospitals have claimed that reuse of catheters does not create any health issues," he said, adding that nevertheless, a policy needs to be framed on this.

"We will be holding a meeting with officials from Centre in this regard," Bapat said.