Hospitals should not exceed limit set by PMDC when charging patients: CJP

LAHORE: Hospitals should not charge patients more than the rate set by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council for treatment, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar remarked on Sunday.

While hearing a case against private hospital owners for charging exorbitant fees from patients for medical treatment, the chief justice told Doctors Hospital and Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Ghazanfar Ali Shah to close his medical facility if he could not serve the public.

Doctors hospital is a private facility in the city, whose CEO appeared in court as the chief justice had issued summons a day earlier for owners of private hospitals.

At the hearing, the chief justice observed that owners of private hospitals bills patients with over Rs100,000 to implant stents despite orders of charging within the limit.

Justice Nisar addressed the CEO of Doctors hospital, asking how they could overrule court orders and charge extra fees.

Moreover, the chief justice said people complained that they were charged exorbitant fees at Doctors hospital.

A patient who is admitted at the hospital for 30 days is handed a bill of Rs4 million, Justice Nisar said, expressing objection.

He added that people from low-income backgrounds should also be considered while setting such high charges on medical treatment.

The court will announce a verdict if private hospitals do not review their rates, the chief justice observed.

The director general of Lahore Development Authority, who was also present at the court, complained against Doctors hospital saying the facility was established on a residential plot.

He added commercial activity of the hospital was under way on a one-canal residential plot.