The government is contemplating setting up a single-window system to give approvals to private hospitals, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said. This, he believes, will reduce red tapism to a great extent.
Speaking at the inauguration of the National Health Summit of the Private Hospitals & Nursing Homes Association (PHANA) here on Saturday, Sudhakar emphasised on the use of technology in healthcare, especially as the state has 3,000-4,000 healthcare startups.
"Private hospitals should be transparent in billing, and should share patients’ e-health records as big data is important in developing government schemes," he said.
PHANA President Dr Prasanna H M said that the association should engage with the government systematically and methodically. “Private healthcare sector is the biggest employment generator in India. We need to create a system where the government will call the industry for deliberations on budget and policy matters.”
HCG Enterprises founder Dr B S Ajaikumar said that the private healthcare sector in India was not getting recognition despite providing 75 per cent of healthcare in the country. Private sector should form a strong lobby, and collect and publicise data on the outcomes of their work, he said.
Karnataka Medical Council president Dr Kanchi Prahlad said that 385 complaints against doctors were pending before the Council, and the 80 per cent of these were from Bengaluru. He said that hospitals and doctors should avoid advertising themselves as this was against medical ethics.