The government's latest move, aimed at bringing uniformity in the charges, will take some of the burden away from patients who otherwise end up paying a huge amount for the treatment
The Delhi government is planning to standardise user charges in all autonomous medical institutes under them in the Capital. Sources told DNA that currently the six autonomous institutes are charging patients as per their individual rules, which will soon be changed.
User charges are the nominal amount that is collected by public hospitals for certain tests and imaging services. The government's latest move, aimed at bringing uniformity in the charges, will take some of the burden away from patients who otherwise end up paying a huge amount for the treatment.
"The idea is to bring uniformity among the rates. The patients should not feel that they are paying more for their treatment. We are preparing a proposal and it will be discussed with all the hospitals. The rates will be finalised as per the rules and regulations," said a senior government official.
"The user charges in some of the hospitals are on the higher side. On the other hand, some don't have any user charges. We want to bring them under one umbrella. Some of the patients came to us about the non-uniformity and hence it was decided to bring some clarity in the charges," added the official.
There are six autonomous institutes in Delhi — Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), Rajiv Gandhi super-speciality hospital, Janakpuri super-speciality hospital, Delhi State Cancer Institute, Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalya and the Maulana Azad Institute for Dental Sciences (MAIDS).
Reacting to the government's proposal, the medical fraternity said, "Whatever the government will charge, we will follow it. Most of the surgeries are free in our hospital. Generally, the dental treatment is very expensive, but we are offering it to the patients at a minimal cost," said Dr Mahesh Verma, director, MAIDS. The dental institute caters to more than 2,000 patients on a daily basis.
"The idea is good but the government should do a lot of ground work before taking the decision. The user charges should be decided after considering the type of treatment these institutes offer," said Dr RK Grover, director, Delhi State Cancer Institute.
In February, the Delhi government had waived off user charges in all the government hospitals and made diagnostic tests free of cost, using the money 'saved' from the three flyover projects.
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