HC relief for Global Hospital

HYDERABAD: The Telangana HC on Monday set aside a show-cause notice issued to a corporate hospital for overcharging patients and asked the state government to follow the due procedure before taking any action. However, it said the government has every right to ask an errant hospital on surplus charges.
Global Hospitals moved the court, challenging the notice issued by the Hyderabad DMHO as to why it was overcharging Covid-19 patients and also to immediately surrender its hospital registration certificate to the authorities. Global is the third hospital after Deccan and Virinchi hospitals which came under the radar of the health authorities for surplus billing and other charges.
A bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy said there was nothing wrong in asking the hospital to explain its position. “But before asking the hospital to surrender its registration certificate, the DMHO or any other competent authority must give reasons in writing for their actions,” the judges said. Advocate general BS Prasad assured the court that the authorities would follow the due procedure and said the matter need not be stayed. However, the bench set aside the notice and asked the government to start the process afresh in tune with the law. “The authorities will start the process now,” the AG said.
Appearing for Global Hospitals, senior counsel Dammalapati Srinivas said that section 9 of the Telangana Allopathic Private Medical Care Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act-2002 says that any hospital should be given a chance to explain its stand before asking it to surrender its registration certificate. “In the current case this norm was violated,” he argued.
DMHO Dr J Venkati had received a complaint on August 6 from a Covid-19 patient, who underwent treatment in Global Hospital. After a preliminary probe, the DMHO came to a prima facie conclusion that the hospital had violated the limits prescribed in the capping GOs and issued a notice to the hospital MD on August 10, asking him to explain his stand by August 17. It may be recalled the government had already initiated action against Deccan and Virinchi hospitals for fleecing patients in violation of GO Nos. 248 and 281 issued in June and July this year. The issue of Global Hospital facing a penal action came to the fore only after it filed a petition in the high court.