NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Tuesday directed states to devise a policy to prevent private hospitals from fleecing patients by forcing them to buy medicines, implants and consumables from their pharmacies at inflated prices. The court, however, said such policy decisions shouldn’t become a deterrent for private entities wanting to enter the healthcare sector.
Disposing of a seven-year-old PIL seeking directions to states to prevent private hos-pitals from forcing patients/attendants to buy medicines and other equipment from the hospital or hospital-run pharmacy, a bench of justices Surya Kant and N K Singh said the issue needed states to devise the policy, and it was not advisable for court to micro-manage private hospitals through a judicial order.
SC observed that people preferring private hospitals for luxurious stay can’t complain of fleecing as they chose not to go to a govt hospital.
It is like staying in a five-star hotel and demanding you be allowed to bring food from a streetside dhaba,” Justice Kant said in a lighter vein. “You go to AIIMS in Delhi and you will know how dedicated and hard-working doctors are even as the institute provides the best possible treatment to patients irrespective of their status,” he said.
The bench said given the size of the population, states have not been able to create requisite healthcare facilities to cater to the needs of growing numbers of patients. “States have facilitated private entities to invest in the healthcare sector and some of the private hospitals have created a name in providing specialised treatment,” it said “Will it be prudent for govts to introduce policy frameworks to regulate every activity in private hospitals? Will such a policy discourage private entities from investing in the sector?” the bench asked.