SrinagarThe J&K High Court on Monday directed proper monitoring of diagnostic centres to prevent any unfair practice by them even as it directed Commissioner Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department to issue vide publicity about the cost of coronary stents available in the hospitals.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation, a division bench of the high court comprsing acting Chief Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar and Justice Tashi Rabstan directed the State Government to act on the notification and give the publicity to the cost of stents.
A notification has already been issued by the National Pharmaceutical Authority of India on 13 February 2017.
The court also directed for proper monitoring of diagnostic and cancer centers in the state so that any unfair practice and overcharging by these centers may be prevented. Diagnostic centers review and management be done fortnightly and report to court, directed the division bench.
The Court also directed authorities to see whether these centers are operating in tune with the provisions of law and are registered or not.
It also sought report as to whether these centers are functioning on the basis of standard specifics or not.
The Court had previously sought to know about complaints the government received against doctors who overcharge patients and the action taken against them during the past two years.
The court had also directed the government to give wide publicity to the circular issued by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under union Ministry of chemicals and fertilizers whereby ceiling prices of coronary stents were fixed. The union health ministry in its affidavit filed through its Assistant Solicitor General had informed the court that it has communicated to all the hospitals about the NPPA circular.
The bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation against medical corruption. The NPPA has fixed Rs 7260 as ceiling price for Bare Metal Stent while as the Rs 29600 has been fixed for Drug Eluting Stents (DES) including metallic DES and Bioresorbable vascular Scaffold (BVS)/ Biodegradable stents .
On October 26, 2016, the High Court took a suo-moto cognizance of two write-ups published in national newspaper on medical corruption and issued a notice to Government of India and the State Government while treating the articles as Public Interest Litigation.
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