Weak and inadequate regulations and complete lack of monitoring of fees charged by doctors at private clinics in Kashmir has left the patient’s high and dry.
Huge disparities in fee charged by doctors for private consultations have gone unnoticed over the years. A rudimentary ‘circular’ issued by Health and Medical Education Department in 2013 outlining the consultation fee that a doctor working with the government can charge was discarded even before it could be implemented.
Doctors are charging patients as per their likes, a practice that patients have called ‘loot’. The fees for a private consultation ranges anywhere from Rs. 300 to Rs. 1000 and sometimes even more. While most doctors justify the amount that they are charging the patients, experts feel that it is not the amount but the disparity and lack of transparency that should be scrutinized by the authorities.
Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr. Sumir Mattoo said that the regulation is an old one. “It was not revised after 2013. And it only applies to government doctors,” he said.
Recently, a private practitioner (name withheld) had displayed a signboard outside his clinic stating that patients would be charged Rs. 600 per consultation and this fee would be valid for one visit only. The announcement had come under heavy debate in social media. While many lambasted the doctor, some upheld the decision citing various reasons.
One Facebook user Bilal Ahmad Boktoo wrote ‘Wel show me anyone who works for free. I am not a doctor but I respect doctors who at least work to cure the people rather hurting. Rs 600 fee is not bad comparing other parts of world . Plus expenses to run clinic should be taken into account’ (sic).”
The doctor under scanner upheld his decision to charge Rs. 600 per consultation and said that he was not committing any crime. “The regulations that government had issued for consultation fees of doctors applies to government doctors doing private practice. There is no such regulation for doctors who are not government employees,” he said.
He cited examples of doctors who come from outside the state and see patients in J&K. “Outside doctors charge anything between Rs. 700 to Rs. 1500. No one ever raised a finger at these doctors,” he said.
Pertinently, private consultations by specialists and super-specialists in Delhi and other cities are quite high compared to private consultation fees in JK, an argument that many doctors use for seeking a raise in their fees. “If a dermatologist charges Rs. 250 in Srinagar, is it very high considering the norms in other states?” said a dermatologist seeking anonymity said.
On the other hand, people have sought government’s intervention in regulating private practice in state. “One doctor charges Rs. 200, other doctor, with the same degree and experience charges Rs. 300. How can this be allowed? Is government sleeping?” said Feroza Akhtar, who was waiting for her turn to see a gynaecologist at a private hospital. She argued that if government can regulate prices of commodities and services such a getting a haircut done, why not private practice of doctors.
There is a general disregard to government fixed rates for private consultation by government doctors, with most flouting the rate fixed. As per the rate list, an MBBS level doctor (Medical Officer or Dental Surgeon) can charge only Rs. 50 for consultation and this fee is valid for two weeks with a total of three visits. A professor level doctor can charge Rs 150 for consultation with the same validity of visits and time period as fixed for Medical Officers.
Government had also put a helpline in place to register complaints of ‘over charging doctors’.
How Much Can Government Doctors Charge in Private:
Assistant Surgeons, Dental Surgeons with MBBS / BDS Rs. 50
Assistant Surgeons with PG and above qualification – Lecturer Medical/Dental College Rs. 75
B-Grade Specialist, Assistant Professor Medical/Dental College Rs. 100
Associate Professor, Professor, Medical/Dental College A-Grade Specialist and special scale Specialist Rs. 150
Who is not Allowed To Do Private Practice:
All doctors of SKIMS
Principal of Government Medical College, Dental Colleges
Directors of Health Services / Family Welfare / ISM
Medical Superintendents, Deputy Medical Superintendents of all Hospitals
Deputy Directors / Assistant Directors / CMOs / Deputy CMOs / BMOs of Health and
Family Welfare Department and equivalents holding Administrative posts
