Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad   

Nursing homes oppose Medical Registration Act

HYDERABAD: Small and medium sized nursing homes and clinics in twin cities are opposing the proposal of health officials to introduce ‘Medical Registration Act’, which aims to regulate corporate hospitals, nursing homes and clinics.

The ‘Medical Registration Act’ has stipulations like mandatory presence of three doctors in a 10 to 20 bedded nursing home or a clinics and makes it compulsory for private hospitals to display surgery charges, out-patient charges. It also seeks to make structural changes of buildings in which these clinics and nursing homes are housed.

While such stipulations could be easy to implement in a flourishing corporate hospital, doctors who own clinics and nursing homes of smaller scale point out that it would not be possible for them to accept such stipulations.

“Most of the clinics and nursing homes do not have the wherewithal to engage three doctors. Even if they do, at the end of the day, the maintenance cost would obviously be levied on the end user,” maintained President for Andhra Pradesh Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (APNA) Y. Ravinder Rao.

There are around 650 nursing homes and clinics in twin cities registered with APNA. Another 400 facilities are not registered with the body.

“80 per cent of these nursing homes and clinics are run on rental basis. It would be difficult to make structural changes like providing adequate space for parking ambulances etc. Even if we set aside Rs. 30,000 to pay for three doctors, it would be impossible to sustain such huge spending in small clinics and nursing homes,” said President for APNA (Twin Cities) V. S. Rao. The Act also makes it mandatory to display the existing rates of all facilities at a nursing home.

Doctor’s point out that room rents, laboratory charges, ambulance rates etc., can be displayed in the premises, but displaying surgery costs is risky. “In case of unforeseen circumstances while conducting a surgery, charges may fluctuate. Displaying surgery rates thus can become disputable,” said Dr. Y. Ravinder Rao.

The APNA members would meet the Chief Secretary of Health, Medical and Family Welfare to discuss the issue. “A meeting has been fixed and we would put across the practical problems the small nursing homes and clinics would face once this Act comes into force,” he added.

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