But wants govts. to subsidise emergencies in private sector
Amid allegations of medical negligence and overcharging by two private hospitals in Delhi-NCR, the Indian Medical Association on Monday urged State governments to subsidise emergencies in the private sector and create a reimbursement mechanism.
No hospital can force its consultants to work on targets and the choice of drugs and devices should rest with the doctors based on the affordability of a patient and not the hospital management, it said.
Speaking at a press conference here on Monday, IMA president Dr. K.K. Aggarwal said: “It is time for the medical profession to introspect and come out with self-regulation procedures. From today onwards, all doctors in the country shall choose affordable drugs.”
Referring to the Max Hospital case of a premature baby being wrongly declared dead by the doctors, he said such errors happen due to accident and not intentionally.
“The doctor-patient trust is experiencing a downward spiral in the country as people are looking at the medical profession with suspicion. It is disheartening to see the erosion in trust, and we want to make it more transparent. The doctor-to-patient ratio in India is skewed due to which the doctors are under a lot of stress — they are also human beings,” Dr. Aggarwal said. Stating that it is “absurd to victimise a medical practitioner if a patient does not respond to treatment”, he said: “Once a treatment is administered, the recuperation of a patient depends upon physical and organic factors.”
“We also appeal to the State governments to come out with an urgent ordinance for 'one drug-one company-one price policy'. Doctors should actively participate in ensuring that no hospital sells any item priced higher than the Market Rate Price. No service charges should be added to procure drugs from outside,” the IMA president added.