42% of patients in Bengaluru say hospitals do not give detailed break-up of bills: Survey

Bengaluru: For three long years ,a staggering 42 per cent of the city’s patients have been navigating their hospital expenses in the dark.

Deprived of detailed break downs on their bills, they have been left defenceless against potential overcharges, robbed of the chance to challenge unjust fees

Patients are entitled to an individually itemised bill for the consumables and services they avail themselves of during treatment. However, according to the survey, 29 per cent of patients received a bill with only larger headings, like pharmacy, room charges and radiology, without breakdown into individual services and consumables. 

The survey that collected responses from more than 2,000 people in Bengaluru also revealed that 13 per cent of patients disclosed receiving bills referencing hospital packages, like the enigmatic “childbirth package”.

Responding to another question in the survey, more than four out of five respondents demanded that the government of India create a standard format, via the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), of billing to be followed by hospitals, enlisting all products, consumables, services, etc.  

Sachin Taparia, Founder of LocalCircles, the organisation that conducted the survey, claimed that while the bigger hospitals still follow the charter, smaller nursing homes continue to provide unitemised bills. “Despite being a fundamental right, it is being violated nationwide. However, if the Government of India, via the BIS, create a common standard, it can solve a bunch of transparency issues currently prevalent”. 

On the contrary, Dr Ravindra R, Former President of the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, claimed that most private hospitals already provide itemised bills. “It is the right of every patient to know about the charges of every treatment, and we try to satisfy the patients by explaining everything beforehand.”

He also added that for some of the standardised treatments, they have created packages that make it convenient for both the patient and the hospital. “We have created packages for some treatments based on their approximate costs, and in such cases, the bill mentions only that instead of individual items. However, if there are any inclusions and exclusions apart from the package, we will mention them separately and explain them to the patients.”

Speaking to DH, D Randeep, Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Services in the Government of Karnataka, confirmed that all private hospitals are bound to declare the price schedule and charges per the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act. 

Across Karnataka, according to the survey, more than 52 per cent of patients claimed that they did not get itemised bills from hospitals, while 88 per cent demanded the Government create a common standard.