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Bengal

Treat patients even if fee not deposited at time of admission, directs clinical regulatory body

Kolkata: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) has issued a fresh advisory to the private hospitals instructing them to admit patients and treat them even if they fail to deposit the required amount at the time of admission.

It has come to the notice of the WBCERC that some private hospitals are demanding huge amounts of money in advance during admission of patients who have no health insurance. This often creates a burden on the patients and their family members. The advisory says that the patients can deposit admission fee within 12 hours from admission.

"The advisory has been issued to check the private hospitals from charging patients excessively during admission. This is however not applicable for those who have medical insurance or any corporate payment option," said Justice (retired) Ashim Kumar Banerjee, Chairperson, WBCERC.

It also categorically mentioned that a huge amount of money cannot be taken by the hospitals as advance. The commission has fixed an amount of advance payment in cases other than acute emergency. Private hospitals would not be entitled to demand more than 20 per cent of the estimated cost of treatment or maximum amount of Rs 50,000 whichever is less at the time of admission, the advisory says. The hospitals have to provide daily billing updates to the patient party through SMS, email or whatsapp.

The WBCERC has noticed that people have been facing difficulties to meet the requirement of advance payment. The advisory is applicable for both Covid and non-Covid treatment. The commission has also found that some private hospitals are recommending unnecessary investigations to the patients and in some cases costly investigations are repeated on a regular basis adding substantial burden on the patient party.

"All investigations amounting above Rs 2,000 should be done on a prior documented intimation to the patient party. In case any investigation is repeated on a regular basis, the patient part must be informed. This mechanism would not be applicable in case of emergency and in that case the decision of the treating doctor would be final and binding," reads the advisory.

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