Hyderabad: The Telangana the government decided to take over 50 percent of beds that are available to COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals.
The health department will use a mobile app to administer and fill these beds. Patients will be charged as per government standards.
The detailed framework for this arrangement will be worked out by the director of Public Health and Family Welfare Dr. G Srinivas Rao.
Dr. B. Bhaskar Rao, CEO of KIMS Hospitals and president of the Telangana Super Specialty Hospitals Association (TSSHA), told that a comprehensive meeting with the Director of Public Health is scheduled for Friday. “We had a meeting today and we are continuing the meeting tomorrow,” he said.
Principal Secretary (Health) Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi, Director of Medical Education Dr. K Ramesh Reddy, expert committee members including Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor Dr. Karunakar Reddy and senior nephrologist Dr. Gangadhar were present.
The development comes in the wake of rising complaints against private hospitals providing COVID-19 treatment.
TS government fixed a price ceiling for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals. Since then, the health department has received several complaints of overpricing, lack of adequate medical care, a massive advance payment, rejection of treatment, refusal of insurance and credit card payments, or refusal to hand over the body of the person who died until payment of medical bills, etc.
Several hospitals have been issued show-cause notices and two private hospitals,
Earlier Deccan Hospitals and Virinchi Hospitals were barred from treating COVID-19 patients.
Virinchi Hospitals’ License Cancelled for COVID Treatment – Excessive Medical Bill
Earlier Deccan Hospital License was canceled for the same reasons.
Director of Public Health issued an order stating “It has been observed that Virinchi Hospital, Banjara Hills is charging exorbitant rates, improper and surplus billing and not adhering to the ceiling guidelines. Several complaints have been received against the hospital and on inquiry, it was found that the complaints were found to be correct,”
Deccan Hospital License Cancelled for COVID Treatment – Excessive Medical Bill
“No new Covid-19 patients shall be admitted by the hospital and no inconvenience should be caused to already admitted patients and they have to be treated as per ceilings fixed by the Government. If it is found that the hospital is not following these orders, then the Government will be compelled to cancel the license issued to the hospital,”
The permission was revoked as per provisions of the Telangana Allopathic Private Medical Care Establishments (Registrations and Regulation) Act-2002 and Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
Earlier, the State government had ordered the DM&HO to conduct a detailed inquiry over complaints made by Radhesh who alleged that the hospital had inflated medical bills and charged Rs. 40 lakh from them while treating a Covid-19 patient, and the hospital demanded that the family should clear the medical bills first failing which they would not release the body of his father, who had died of Covid-19.