Fortis hospitals always have been involved in expensive treatment issues. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority found that the hospital also made over 900% profit on some non-scheduled drugs and up to 350% on scheduled drugs.
Recently, Adya, the seven-year-old girl who was suffering from dengue and her health condition, was severe. She went under the treatments for two weeks in the hospital and instead of the many efforts done by doctors, she couldn’t survive and died.
The hospital charged the parents the whopping amount of 16 lakhs for the two-week treatment. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) stated the Fortis hospital charged around 1,700 percent margin on drugs and consumables which used in the treatment of Adya.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’s Deputy Director Anand Prakash said, “NPPA shall be taking necessary follow up the action as per existing law and within its jurisdiction”. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority released the findings of the data it had obtained from Fortis after it had received an RTI application.
The hospital group said in the statement that the hospital’s end price for the patient was in order and almost same like any other private hospitals in the country. Where the prices of individual items drive the margin/profit topic out of context. Therefore, to understand the total business profit scenario, Fortis Hospital business’s financial margins should be observed.
As per the reports, the highest mark up was in the consumables around 1,737% and 96 types of consumables used by the patient during the treatment. Such as disposal syringes were billed at the price Rs 200 where the hospital got the same product for Rs 15.29. For the bed bath towels and wipes, the markup was around 942 percent as the family forced to pay Rs 350 where the hospital obtained from the retailer at Rs 33.60.
The actual price of oxygen masks was Rs 24.68, and the hospital charged Rs 190. Where the sterile surgical gloves and unsterile examination gloves procured by the group at Rs 9.86 and Rs 1.34 respectively. The family forced to pay Rs 75 and Rs 9.50 sequentially. Well, this is 609 percent mark up in the prices.
Meanwhile, the medicines which were under price control, the hospital charged extra between 5% and 350% and the drugs which were not under price control, the hospital charged between 10-200% more.
It is not the first time the hospital has been accused of overpriced treatments, drugs, and consumables.
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