Supreme Court for prohibiting hospitals from forcing patients to buy medicines from on campus pharmacies

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked Centre and state governments as to why hospitals should not be prohibited from forcing their patients to buy medicines and other consumables from their own pharmacies.

A bench headed by Justice S A Bobde issued notices to Centre, states and union territories on the PIL filed by Siddharth Dalmia, a law student citing the problem that all patients and their family members have to face during hospitalisation.

Dalmia pointed out that his mother had to undergo surgery and receive treatments for breast cancer, for which the family has already spent close to Rs 15 lakh.

“During the course of the treatment of his mother, the petitioners (Dalmia and his father) for the first time realised that there is an organised methodology adopted by the Hospitals, nursing homes and health care service providing institutions for fleecing and looting the patients by compelling the patients and their attendants to buy medicines only from the hospital and hospital pharmacies within the hospital on MRP or highly inflated artificial prices,” stated the petition.

PIL has sought a direction to Centre and states to prohibit hospitals from compelling the patients to mandatorily buy medicines from their pharmacies and to take action against those who flout such orders.