During the second wave, families struggling to get treatment for the COVID-19 infected family members have been noticed to have fallen prey to hospitals which overcharged them. One such complaint was made against Paras Hospital in Sector-22 Panchkula. The Director General, Health Services (DGHS), Haryana, has issued a show-cause notice to the hospital for violation of “medical ethics” and overcharging.
The Case
Bathinda resident The patient from Bathinda, Dr Kapil Garg, had got admitted on April 12 in the hospital for Covid treatment and died on May 3. As per the complaint filed by his widow Arti Garg was forced to deposit Rs 13.81 lakh.
Inquiry Committee’s Findings
The inquiry committee chaired by, Dr Shaleen, found that the hospital overcharged the patient by over Rs 1.5 lakh. The committee observed that the hospital charged at Rs 6,000 per day for the High Dependency Unit (HDU) and Rs 10,000 per day for the ICU. Also, the hospital charged Rs 80,000 for doctor visits during the stay of the patient.
- Doctor’s Visits: “It is very well understood that treating doctor will visit the admitted patient for treatment purposes and doctor visiting charges cannot be charged by the hospital from the admitted patient when the patient is already being charged for the room at Rs 6,000 per day (for High Dependency Unit) and Rs10,000 per day for the ICU. This should be a part of the room charge only. Hence, an amount of Rs80,000 amounts to overcharging by the hospital,” said the inquiry committee.
- Physiotherapy Charges: On physiotherapy charges when the patient was on ventilator and immobile, the committee observed that the “Physiotherapy charges charged by the hospital amounting to Rs 30,100 should be the part of the ICU room charge and this amounts to overcharging by Paras Hospital.”
- Ventilator Charges: “The ventilator charges billed on to patient for being more than 8 hours on a ventilator are beyond comprehension and logical reasoning. Hence, Rs 43,500/- on account of the patient being on a ventilator for more than 8 hours amounts to overcharging by the hospital”, said the inquiry committee.
Source: The Tribune
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