If Shakespeare were alive today, he would have tried find a living example for his phrase 'Much Ado About Nothing' in Telangana government's formal adoption of Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010.
The Central Act was adopted by Telangana state government without much fanfare but nobody has given a thought to apply its provisions in letter and spirit yet.
Under its new rules, hospitals are required to follow minimum standard facilities and services should be necessary in every hospital. Those starting new hospitals are required to apply for registration and even it's done through online.
The original Act came into effect directly in 10 states - Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan Uttarakhand and Assam and all Union Territories except Delhi - but gradually other states started adopting the central Act by invoking clause (1) of Article 252 of the Constitution.
What went wrong?
The main objective behind enactment of the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 was to make private hospitals follow Standard Treatment Guidelines, display their rates at a conspicuous place and charge the rates for each type of procedures and services within the range of rates determined from time to time.
Furthermore, the National Council for Clinical Establishments has approved a standard list of medical procedures and a standard template for costing of medical procedures, which has been shared with the States/UTs where the Act is applicable for taking appropriate action by them.
When media writes glowingly how so and so law has been passed by the state government in the assembly the very next day, it does not bother to revisit what happened next as it's not sensational in nature.
When I am buying a Coke from a roadside vendor, I know what price I have to pay. The next vendor too charges the same price for that bottle of Coke but how sure one is if he/she is charged the same price for a procedure that the private hospital charged for another patient before for the same procedure?
Aren't they charging as per their whims and fancies? Where is the regulator?
No doubt, government regulatory bodies are in deep slumber. Perhaps, they think that people are not interested in having transparent rate card followed across hospitals based on certain minimum standards.
To give you an example, visit websites of any Hyderabad based corporate hospital. There you would find everything except standard fees charged by the hospital for specific procedures.
Here I am reproducing a screenshot from Continental Hospitals, a JCI accredited corporate hospital website. Take a look for yourself.
When Haryana based Fortis Healthcare Ltd. billed the family of seven year old Dengue victim for 660 syringes and 2700 gloves, did the learned mediapersons question why the Haryana government did not adopt the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 or why it was not notified if it was adopted by the state goverment?
They won't as most media organisations play a dual game: one hand they project as if they are pro people but every year you can see the same hospitals being ranked in top 10 so called 'centres of excellence' or 'best hospitals in India' at a glittering event in some posh five star hotel by the same media organisation that bashed the hospital in the Dengue over-billing incident.
Here is a screenshot of the ranks given to Fortis Gurgaon by leading media houses.
The question is: Why consumers should be forced to approach District Consumer Forum when they are charged excess by a hospital if enacted laws are implemented in letter and spirit?
Well, you can try this. When you walked into any corporate hospital in Hyderabad, did you ever see them display their rates for different types of procedures? You won't as corporate hospitals are patronized by the state for reasons better known to them.
May be, politicians from ruling party are into hospital business!
Truth is stranger than fiction
It's not just that the government is afraid of taking on private hospitals' lobby to compel it to display the rate card for different procedures, it is also treating the quacks' lobby the same way.
The original Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 provides huge pecuniary penalty for private clinical establishments if they do not adhere to its provisions.
The Act defines Clinical Establishment as
By this definition, even clinics run by quacks aka RMPs (as government likes to designate quacks masquerading as doctors in rural and urban areas with or without school level qualification and promotes them with certificates) too come under the ambit of this Act.
But, was anyone pulled up so far? No. There won't be any action against clinics run by quacks as successive governments openly supports them.
Under rules, authorities can levy a fine of Rs 50,000 against anyone running an unauthorized clinic as per the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 under section 43.
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