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Consultation fee SHOCKER
Corporate and private hospitals have increased consultation fee four-fold. The fee, which used to be between Rs 250 and Rs 350 in 2006, is now anything between Rs 600 and Rs 1,000. Interestingly, the government has no control to regulate the fee.
Hyderabad: Corporate and private hospitals have increased consultation fee four-fold. The fee, which used to be between Rs 250 and Rs 350 in 2006, is now anything between Rs 600 and Rs 1,000. Interestingly, the government has no control to regulate the fee.
According to official sources, all that the government can do is to see that the hospitals display consultation fee prominently in the premises as per the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act 2010.
The out-patient consultation timings at Osmania and Gandhi hospital are between 9 am and 1 pm. After that only emergency cases are seen at the causality ward. Only the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) runs the OP consultation in the morning and in the evening. But, the corporate sector consultations are offered from morning till late evening.
The consultation fee at the corporate hospitals depends on the doctor’s seniority and experience. A senior nephrologist charges Rs 1,000 per consultation. In all the corporate hospitals the consultation fee of super speciality doctors ranges between Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 and the OP card remains valid for 10 days.
The general physician charges Rs 500 per consultation. A gynaecologist charges Rs 850 per consultation. The consultation fee of an andrologist in Hyderabad is Rs 3,000 for three months, excluding diagnostics and medicines.
Even doctors of private clinics have started charging more. Sharing her experience, Sujata, a housewife, said that she had to cancel her appointment with a psychologist after she came to know that consultation fee was Rs 1,000.
A few of the corporate hospitals do not even give receipt for the consultation fee. “After payment of the registration fee, I was asked to visit the doctor. I thought that I would get the receipt along with the OP file. But I found only the prescription in the file and no receipt,” said a patient.
Dr M Ramadevi, health sub-committee convener, Jana Vignana Vedika, demanded that the government fix the minimum and maximum consultation fee based on credit points.
It has to design credit points based upon the seniority, experience and success rate in treatment and surgery as in the US.
Dr K S Ratnakar, director, global medical educational and research foundation, Global Hospital, said the governing committee of the hospital would decide the consultation fee depending on the inflation and market trends just like the Union government which decides the dearness allowance for its staff.
When contacted Dr K Ramesh Reddy, Director of Medical Education, said there was no control on the fee at the corporate and private hospitals. “We cannot prescribe the hospitals how much they need to charge for consultations,” he said.
