The UT health department on Wednesday notified fixed charges at private hospitals, nursing homes and clinics for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
These institutions will have to adhere to national and regional guidelines on admission of Covid-19 patients. The per day rates (see box) will be inclusive of care for comorbidities, but emergency intravention required for these conditions will be charged extra, states the order issued by UT principal health secretary Arun Gupta.
The package also does not include the cost of Covid-19 test.
Cost for delivery and care of newborns and their mothers will be charged by the hospitals as per the prevailing rates of relevant packages. Major surgical procedures undertaken during stay in the hospital will be charged extra.
Drugs like Tocilizumab or Remdesvir are excluded from the package and will be charged on MRP basis. These will be administered to patients only after expert review.
{{/usCountry}}Drugs like Tocilizumab or Remdesvir are excluded from the package and will be charged on MRP basis. These will be administered to patients only after expert review.
{{/usCountry}}The charges of plasma therapy beyond ICMR study will be discussed later as per government guidelines, the order states.
Also, patients with mild symptoms, who do not want to go for home isolation or government Covid Care Centres, may opt for paid health facilities, which may not be a hospital, but an improvised isolation facility created in a hospital or non-hospital premises.
TEST WITHOUT PRESCRIPTION
The health department has also allowed three private laboratories approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct RT-PCR tests for detection of Covid-19 without prescription, on payment basis. All three labs are in Sector 11 – SRL Labs, Atulaya Healthcare and Metropolis Healthcare. Results are made available online.