Latest news with #WestBengalClinicalEstablishments(Registration
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.
The Hindu
17-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
West Bengal Assembly passes Bill on ‘transparency' in medical costs in private facilities
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Tuesday (June 17, 2025) passed a Bill that aims to regulate the cost of treatment in private clinical establishments in the State, and protect patients from unexpected, inflated charges for healthcare. Also Read | Experts call for regulation and standardisation of private healthcare in India The West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation, and Transparency) (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was tabled on Monday by the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Chandrima Bhattacharya. The Bill amends the West Bengal Clinical Establishments Act, 2017 with the objective to regulate the licensing process of clinical establishments, increase transparency in their functioning, ensure strict adherence to fixed rates and package rates, and mandate electronic medical record-keeping. No hidden charges The Bill states that 'every clinical establishment must strictly follow fixed rates and charges including the package rates for investigation, bed charges, operation theatre procedures'. Under the amended Bill, privately owned medical facilities will also have to provide proper estimates for treatments not covered under fixed or package rates to the patient and their kin during initiation and through the course of treatment. Hospitals have also been mandated to communicate updated charges and the amount due to the patient and their kin every 24 hours. The amended Bill also prohibits final hospital bills from exceeding the estimates by a percentage specified by the State Health Department. Increased surveillance Additionally, the Bill mandates detailed medical record-keeping of patients in the hospital's electronic software via e-prescriptions, and detailed discharge summaries. 'Clinical establishments will maintain such records and other data in the software as may be notified by the State government from time to time and all such records shall be furnished to the State Government electronically and physically, on demand by the Government,' the Bill states. The Opposition raised concerns over women's safety, and confidentiality. During the debate, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the State Assembly Suvendu Adhikari questioned the lack of specific steps or guidelines in the Bill to improve safety for women doctors, nurses, patients, and guards. 'If e-prescription is introduced, will the confidentiality of the patient's personal information be protected?' Mr. Adhikari said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator also raised questions over the 'practicality' of the new charges being communicated to the patient within 24 hours. 'Sometimes it takes more than 24 hours for a patient's health test report to come. So, this specific time frame is not realistic,' Mr. Adhikari said. Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya responded to the LoP's allegations, saying that, going forward, private hospitals would be obliged to inform patients about the cost of treatment in a timely manner, and that the Bill had been introduced to regulate the private healthcare sector. Notably, the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission, conceptualised and announced by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2017, also oversees treatment infrastructure in private clinical establishments across the State. The President of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India, Rupak Baruah, said that the Bill was a good initiative to bridge misunderstandings between common people and hospitals, but added that 'medical treatment is a dynamic process that does not always adhere to a fixed system'.
Hindustan Times
17-06-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Bengal assembly passes bill that requires hospitals to display charges
KOLKATA: The West Bengal assembly on Tuesday passed the West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) (Amendment) Bill, 2025 which requires clinical establishments to 'prominently display fixed rates and package charges at a conspicuous place within the facility' to bring transparency into the functioning of clinical establishments. The bill also proposes to make it mandatory for all private hospitals and nursing homes to 'maintain electronic medical records for each patient through approved software'. The bill also said that proper estimates of all treatment charges, which do not fall within the ambit of packages and fixed charges, must be provided to the patient's family before treatment commences. 'Every clinical establishment shall strictly follow the fixed rates and charges, including the package rates, for investigation, bed charges, operation theatre procedures,' the bill passed by the assembly said. Minister of state for health Chandrima Bhattacharya introduced the bill in the assembly on Tuesday. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, faulted the bill, saying it should have had provisions for the safety and security of doctors and nurses in the hospitals. 'It seems that the state government hasn't learnt any lesson from the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case. The bill has nothing on safety and security of doctors and nurses. This bill may suit the bigger hospitals in the cities but not the small establishments in the districts. Where is the infrastructure in smaller private hospitals and nursing homes in the districts for e-prescriptions and e-budget? This will force more patients to go out of the state for medical treatment,' Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition, told reporters. Hospital associations welcomed the legislation, saying it would bring transparency in bills and treatment costs. 'It is a very good initiative. It would bring more transparency and do away with the misunderstanding about packages and treatment costs. But we also have to keep in mind that medical treatment is very dynamic. In many cases, it doesn't follow a set pattern. So, if the treatment costs exceed the package costs, it should be reviewed unbiasedly and scientifically,' Rupak Barua, managing director and chief executive officer of Woodlands Hospital and president of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India, said in a video message.
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."
