The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Hospitals asked to provide cost-effective medicare

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Sunday, Nov 30, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Hospitals asked to provide cost-effective medicare

Special Correspondent

NIMS chief for adopting differential tariff structure

‘Mismatch between rising cost of infrastructure, technology and pricing mechanism’
‘India set to emerge as hub of medical tourism and health’

HYDERABAD: The health and hospital administrators have a challenge in delivering service in a cost-effective manner even as there is a mismatch between the rising cost of infrastructure, technology and pricing mechanism, said Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences Director D. Prasada Rao here on Saturday.

He was the chief guest at the inaugural of two-day national conference of Association of Health and Hospital Administrators (AHHA) to mark its decennial year.

Resource shortage

In spite of community insurance scheme, third-party funding, funding by patients themselves, there was resource shortage in the government and private sector hospitals. Adopting differential tariff structure for below poverty line, poverty line, middle-class, upper middle-class patients could be one way of optimising expenditure without compromising on quality of medicare. Irrespective of the patient’s capacity to pay, operation theatres, ICU, diagnostic care would be similar for all categories, he said.

Dr. Rao said by 2020, hospitals should have architecture, facilities, waste management, informatics of international standards and tuned to patient’s comfort and cut his waiting time at the hospitals.

Quality medicare

Dr. K.T. Reddy, president and M.Veera Prasad, general secretary, AHHA said India was set to emerge as hub of medical tourism and health care managers should gear themselves to deliver quality medical care.

Col. S.K.P. Matwankar, ex-medical director, Hari Kishandas Hospital, Mumbai said primary and secondary health care in the country was in dire straits while there was too much emphasis on tertiary level hospitals. The challenge was not in simply aping the West but in going in for imaginative measures, including eco-friendly architecture and design of hospital buildings suitable to our country. Appreciating community health insurance concept for extending tertiary care, he said private sector also should come forward to improve facilities at primary and secondary care centres.

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