PESHAWAR: The health department has not fixed consultation fee for doctors and rates for diagnostic services in private sector despite the directives of Peshawar High Court issued two years ago, according to officials.

They said that in July 2020, Peshawar High Court ordered Healthcare Commission Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to fix rates for medical tests, including Covid-19 and dengue in consultation with private laboratories after complaints were lodged by people.

Officials said that no progress was made on the issue as HCC was not empowered under the law to do so and health department was in the process of establishment of another office to look exclusively the charges at the private sector hospitals and laboratories.

“Punjab Healthcare Commission is empowered to fix consultation fee and rates for private diagnosis centres but in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the law does not authorise the commission to issue rates for laboratory tests, X-ray, MRI and CT scan etc in addition to fixation of consultation fee of doctors,” they told this scribe.

PHC issued directives for the purpose about two years ago

Officials said that after instructions were issued by PHC, a report was submitted to health department wherein HCC informed it about the legal situation and proposed establishment of a separate body to fix rates for laboratories and doctors.

“Under the Healthcare Commission Act, 2015, we are required to regulate the health outlets and ensure that people get quality care. The commission has carried out categorisation of the health facilities both in public and private sectors but the task of fixing rates does not come under its domain,” they said.

Officials said that health department constituted a committee for the purpose comprising senior medical consultants with director-general health services as its head. They said that a report regarding the matter was submitted in the court two years ago. They added that after a few meetings, the committee discontinued work and the issue went into hibernation.

They acknowledged that it was a big issue for patients to pay high fee for tests and checkups at private laboratories and hospitals. They said that there were no fixed rates for any test either in private hospitals or in public sector.

Officials said that many junior consultants received more fee than the senior ones while the rates for laboratory investigations also varied from one centre to another. Most people complained of high fee for dengue and Covid-19 tests in private sector as the charges ranged from Rs2, 000 to Rs6,000, they said.

They said that some four months ago, the department formed another committee with additional secretary health, director-general health and representatives of HCC as members to pave way for setting up a body for fixing charges of the diagnostic outlets and fee structure for the doctors in accordance with their qualification and experience.

“There is no legal mechanism in health department to fix fee and rates. The committee may recommend amendments to HCC law through provincial assembly authorising it to fix fee structure in private centres,” said officials.

They said that the Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal government had notified a fee structure for doctors in 2008 which was not implemented.

They said that a notification by health department regarding charges would be resisted by owners of private health facilities and they would likely get relief from the courts in case of action. However, an amendment through provincial assembly was required, they said. “HCC has already compiled data of all the hospitals in public and private sectors,” they added.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2021