Mixed reaction to Delhi govt advisory on norms for pvt hopsitals

The draft advisory from the Delhi government on proposed new norms for private hospitals and nursing homes has drawn a mixed response from private facilities and health experts, with some welcoming the move and others saying the measures "need legal vetting".

Private hospitals in the city said they will engage with the government on the matter and provide them their views.

"The advisory from the Delhi government is quite harsh from the perspective of private healthcare services providers based in Delhi. We are in the process of studying the document in detail and will be engaging with the government in a constructive manner," a spokesperson of the Max Healthcare group said in a statement.

The proposals in the draft advisory include capping of profit made on drugs and consumables by private hospitals in the national capital, and provisions wherein they "cannot hold hostage" bodies of patients, who have died during the treatment there, even if families are unable to pay the due bills before the last rites.

The draft also proposes the doctors at private hospitals and nursing homes preferably prescribe drugs from the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) and patients be consulted before administering drugs in the non-NLEM category.

"The draft has been put in public domain, inviting suggestions and objections for a period of 30 days. After that, we will implement the policy with revisions," Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told reporters yesterday while announcing the draft advisory.

A senior official of another leading private hospital, on condition of anonymity, said, "We are yet to receive the draft advisory. But, comments would be provided to the government."
However, the challenges are in implementation, regulation and taking punitive actions on the defaulters., Manjunath said, adding at this point, it is not clear how this would impact operational costs and cost of human resources of the hospitals,