Latest news with #RupakBarua
Time of India
21-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Hosps follow transparency bill, start displaying rates
Kolkata: Several private hospitals in Kolkata plan to display their charges, including package rates, on LCD screens. Others are altering their displays to include additional information, mandated by a bill placed at the state assembly earlier this week. Association of Hospitals of Eastern India has slated a meeting for next week, when plans are on to address the need to consider the flexibility of hospital charges, which often leads to rates varying between initial estimates and the actual bill. The West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) (Amendment) Bill, 2025, tabled in the assembly last Monday, states: "Every clinical establishment shall strictly follow the fixed rates and charges.... It shall ensure that intensive care, ventilation, implants, consultation and similar tests and procedures, and any additional treatment or procedure shall not attract additional charges. .." Woodlands Hospital already has an LCD display, listing major charges. "We are expanding the list to meet the bill requirement. We plan to counsel patients' families more elaborately on charges. While we have a system of counselling and display, there could be gaps that can be improved," said Rupak Barua, CEO of Woodlands Multispecialty Hospital and AHEI president. Barua added opinion would be sought from other hospitals to arrive at a consensus on variable charges, like those under packages that could change during treatment. "Treatment being a dynamic process, costs might increase, depending on patient's condition. After our internal talks, we will approach the govt with a proposal," he added. BP Poddar Hospital has displayed the rates of its general beds, critical care, double-bed, single-bed and suites on two screens as well as charges for tests, procedures, implants, package rates and consultation fees. "We maintain transparency across every stage. Keeping in line with NABH guidelines and govt regulations, we ensure all hospital charges and treatment-related expenses are itemised and communicated to patients and their families. Our tariffs and charge structures are prominently displayed. We are adding a few more speciality units and we plan to install modern devices that will ease patient convenience about tariffs and rates," said Supriyo Chakrabarty, Group Adviser, B P Poddar Hospital. Peerless Hospital is waiting for more instructions from the health authorities before displaying charges. "We have a manual display, which must now include a lot more categories. It will be difficult without an electronic screen. We had an interaction with the health authorities and were asked to wait," said Peerless CEO Sudipta Mitra. Charnock Hospital, too, plans to follow soon. "There should be transparency, rates displayed and charged should be the same. Also, hospital treatment depends on patients' condition, which is dynamic. Pre-admission cost estimates may change during treatment. But pricing and billing should be transparent," said Charnock MD Prashant Sharma, Indian Chamber of Commerce Health Committee chairperson.
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
New law to curb hosp bill inflation, make treatment cost display must
Kolkata: The state govt on Monday moved a bill in the assembly mandating that private hospitals and nursing homes should not inflate their fixed treatment rates, including packages, with hidden charges. The bill also states that for treatment costs not covered under fixed rates, including packages, patients' families must be clearly informed of the possible costs, and any increase must be communicated within 24 hours. The bill will be debated in the assembly on Tuesday. The bill mandates that rates must be properly displayed so that they are "visible" to all in the private hospitals, and also on the hospital websites. The West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) (Amendment) Bill 2025 was moved by finance minister, also the junior health minister, Chandrima Bhattacharya in the state assembly. It states, "Every clinical establishment shall strictly follow the fixed rates and charges, including the package rates, for investigation, bed charges, operation theatre procedures." The bill also clearly mandates that private hospitals shall ensure that "intensive care, ventilation, implants, consultation and similar tests and procedures, and any additional treatment or procedure shall not attract additional charges over and above such fixed rates and charges, including packages". It goes a step further and states that proper estimates of all normal treatment charges, which do not fall within the ambit of fixed charges and packages, must be provided to the patients' families before treatment commences, and the final costs should not exceed a percentage decided by the Bengal govt. Any subsequent increase, the bill states, must be informed within 24 hours, including the subject-wise breakdown. The bill also proposes to make e-prescriptions mandatory and asks private hospitals to maintain long-term electronic medical records of patients, including treatment details, discharge summaries, and prescriptions. It also states that an officer not below the assistant director of health services will now be a registering authority for private hospitals and nursing homes. However, it also puts a 90-day cap on the regulating authority to dispose of applications for fresh licences or renewals, specifying the reasons for acceptance or rejection. The bill states that on the penal provisions, IPC will be replaced with BNS and CrPC will be replaced with BNSS. Rupak Barua, president of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India and CEO of Woodlands Multispecialty Hospital, said, "The bill is a right move to bring about transparency and clarity in hospital bills. We are ready to display the charges, for it will help patients' families get a clear idea about the possible expenses. But it must be remembered that treatment is a dynamic process and depends on the physical condition of the patient. It could change from time to time, necessitating additional measures, procedures, medicines, and may even force hospitals to shift a patient from a normal ward to the ICU. This could lead to a significant change in the charges and result in a bill which is higher than what the patients' families anticipated. This has been happening frequently in the case of patients admitted under packages. So, the process has to be flexible and take these factors into account. But we are ready to make a start, and charges should be displayed."
