Sikkim proposition convinces Centre to establish minimum clinical standards for hospitals

GANGTOK, 19 Jan: Sikkim, along with 3 other hilly states of the country, will have to adhere to a set of minimum clinical standards in health care prescribed by the Central government. The central government is all set to make mandatory for all hospitals and clinics to adhere to these minimum standards after Sikkim approached the central government in this regard, media reports inform.
Although health is a state subject, the central government can intervene if states approach it, as Sikkim has done. The Centre has framed this legislation at the behest of four states - Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. Accordingly, the law will apply only to these states. The health ministry wants to extend it to others though it has clarified to other state health ministries that the Act is “not intrusive”, but moved in public interest.
This means that if a hospital provides a particular service, say, a bypass surgery, then it will have to ensure it has the minimum stipulated equipment, manpower and infrastructure.
Although the law will be limited to some states, it will be the first time that there will be a specified national law for standards of treatment that could also result in penalty for errant healthcare service providers.
The Health Ministry plans to notify the Clinical Establishments Act 2010 by March, a senior health ministry official was quoted in media reports coming from New Delhi as stating.
While Rajasthan has agreed to adopt the legislation, Bihar and Orissa have also indicated a willingness to do so.
Indian healthcare, projected to touch $75 billion this year, is highly fragmented and unregulated. Most patients prefer to go to private hospitals and clinics, which follow varying standards of treatment and pricing of services. Industry bodies Indian Medical Association have opposed the proposed regulation, saying that this would take the industry back to the licence raj.
Once the Act is notified, all clinical establishments in the above mentioned four states will have to voluntarily declare details of infrastructure, manpower and services to be registered provisionally. With the database, the government will notify the final rules and allow only abiding hospitals to be registered.