Private hospitals should not charge an OPD patient more than Rs 150 for Covid gear and laboratories collecting swab samples from home should not demand any extra payment other than a conveyance fee of Rs 15 a kilometre, the clinical establishment commission has said.

In a series of advisories on Saturday, the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission also said private hospitals should not charge separately for sanitisers and other protective gear. The costs of these items should be included in the PPE cost that the government has capped at Rs 1,000 per indoor patient per day.

If there are more patients in the queue than the number of vacant beds, the commission wants the doctor-on-duty to decide who will be admitted, based on the condition of the patients.

“The commission has issued the advisories following complaints that several hospitals are overcharging patients,” said an official.

The Telegraph takes a look at some of the advisories.

OPD charges

The commission said several private hospitals were charging various amounts in addition to the doctor’s consultation fee at the OPD. The charges are being taken for providing sanitisers and masks and other protective gear.

According to the advisory, a hospital can charge up to Rs 150 for the protective gear.

“The clinical establishment would be entitled to charge a sum of Rs 50 only as ‘COVID Protection Charges’ that would include sanitiser, mask etc… each patient would be entitled to one companion only and in such case the patient would be charged an additional amount of Rs 50… in case the consultant physician is in full PPE uniform… the clinical establishment would be entitled to a further amount of Rs 50,” an advisory states.

“We have received complaints that hospitals are charging between Rs 200 and Rs 450 for dispensing hand sanitiser and a mask at the entrance. So, we have fixed a rate,” said retired judge Ashim Kumar Banerjee, the chairperson of the commission.

Swab collection

The state government has capped the rate of the RT-PCR test for Covid at Rs 2,250 but many laboratories are “charging additional amounts”, the commission said.

A Shyambazar resident told this newspaper that he had to pay Rs 3,500 for each of the four members of his family to a private hospital to collect their swab samples from home.

“The bill showed that Rs 2,250 was charged for the test and an additional Rs 1,250 for PPE, collection of samples, registration, conveyance and N-95 mask,” said the man.

“My wife and younger son gave samples on one day and our elder son and I on another day. Despite that each of us was charged an additional Rs 1,250. The person who came did not change his PPE before collecting the second sample.”

The commission has said that laboratories should not demand anything extra other than a conveyance charge of Rs 15 per km.

Gear cost limit

An advisory of the commission states: “The amount of Rs 1,000 already fixed by the government would be considered to be ‘COVID Protection Charges’ that would include not only the cost of PPE but also other ancillary items including sanitiser, additional gloves, head gear etc.”

Cheaper antibiotics

The commission has asked hospitals to supply cheaper antibiotics to patients from its pharmacy unless the doctor prescribes a drug of a particular brand. This, according to the advisory, will reduce the burden on the patient. The panel has also advised hospitals to stock at least three or four versions of a medicine of varying costs.

The advisory cites the example of meropenem, which is used in critical care management. “Unless specifically prescribed by the concerned doctor… the pharmacy must supply meropenem available at the stock having price tags comparatively lower,” the advisory said.

A doctor of a private hospital, however, said his experience showed that the drug manufactured by the company that did the original research was more effective than the one manufactured by another company.

“It is wrong that hospitals make more money by giving drugs of certain brands. In fact, the margin is more if we give drugs of lesser known brands,” said an official of a private hospital.

Doctor’s call

If a situation arises where the number of Covid-19 patients in the emergency or triage exceeds the number of vacant beds in the hospital, the doctor on duty will decide which patient will be admitted, an advisory states.