The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has served a show cause notice to healthcare chain Fortis, asking it for copies of bills in a case where its hospital in Gurugram allegedly overcharged a patient suffering from dengue, The Hindu reported.
The hospital had asked Jayant Singh, a resident of Dwarka in Delhi, to pay nearly Rs 16 lakh for treating his seven-year-old daughter Adya for two weeks. Following a series of tweets from a family friend after the patient passed away, Union Health Minister JP Nadda had sought details about the matter and said that the government would investigate and take necessary action.
The regulatory body has asked Fortis’ chief executive officer and managing director for copies of invoices, names of the medicines given to the patient, the quantity administered, and the price charged, PTI reported.
The drug pricing organisation warned Fortis that if it fails to respond by December 6, its team will inspect hospital records to collect information. “The reports suggest that apart from hospital charges, the billing includes inflated cost of medicine, syringes and injectables,” it said in the letter. “The NPPA is mandated to enquire and take action in cases wherever there is a violation of Drug Price Control Order, 2013.”
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