If implemented, tests or procedures costing less than Rs 500 will be free of charge
The Union health ministry is sitting on a proposal sent by a committee to do away with the user charges in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The patient-friendly proposal which was announced by the institute's director Dr Randeep Guleria on August 15 last year has not yet been implemented.
According to the proposal, if implemented, the patients will not have to pay for any test or procedure costing less than Rs 500 such as blood tests, X-rays, ultrasound scans and similar diagnostic procedures.
Around 10,000 people visit the out-patient department of the institute on a regular basis and more than 2,000 patients are admitted to the hospital.
According to the sources, the file which was sent to the ministry in October last year has been moving from one department to another. Senior officials at the institute also hinted that the proposal might not get approved by the ministry.
"The Union Minister of Health, JP Nadda in several occasions has expressed his interest in getting away with the user charges in AIIMS. But the top officers have been sitting on the file and delaying the decision," said a senior doctor from the institute.
The country's premier medical institute had also conducted a pilot study to justify the proposal and then submitted its findings to the ministry. According to the study, a patient from Delhi has to shell out Rs 1,900 on every visit to the AIIMS while those from outside the national Capital on an average spend Rs 4,300 per visit.
However, the ministry officials claimed that the proposal has not been approved in the Governing Body (GB) Council meeting that happens once or twice a year depending upon the issues."We are not directly dealing with AIIMS as it is an autonomous body. But as far as I know, the proposal was shot down in the GB council. It has not been approved," said Arun Singhal, additional secretary, the ministry of health and family welfare.
Declining the ministry's claim, senior officials from the institute said that the file has not yet been put up in the GB. "We were told not to put up the file in the previous GB meeting. The file, for once, has not even gone to the council meeting. How can they disapprove it then?," said another senior doctor from AIIMS privy to the development.
The pilot study revealed that the patients had to spend a considerable amount of money on travelling, food and lodging for self and attendants and loss of income for patients as well as for attendants.
The study also stated that patients encountered long queues for dates prescribed for investigations, for payment of charges and then for the investigations on scheduled days. The patients had to make multiple visits for getting each laboratory test done, which added to their harassment and economic loss to patients.
"We had submitted our proposal and are waiting for the ministry to response," said Dr Guleria.
PILOT STUDY
The pilot study states that patients encountered long queues for dates prescribed for investigations, for payment of charges and then for the investigations on scheduled days. The patients had to make multiple visits for getting each test done, which adds to their economic loss.
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