To prevent irregularities in the medical sector, Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel on Wednesday reviewed the regulatory changes made in the PMJAY-MA scheme in detail. The development also comes in the backdrop of two major fraud cases that came to light earlier this year – at the Inti Babycare Children’s Hospital in Rajkot and the Khitya Multispeciality Hospital in Ahmedabad.
The review meeting was held in Gandhinagar on Wednesday and was attended by Principal Secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi, Health Commissioner Harshad Patel, PMJAY-MA CEO Remya Mohan and specialist doctors from several government and private hospitals. A government release on Thursday, quoting Patel, said the new SOPs (standard operating procedures) would ensure that “there is no scope for miscreants who tamper with patients in the lure of money”. Also, efforts are being made to make treatment “easy, accessible and system-wide” under the scheme.
In the review meeting, new SOPs for packages including Cardiology, Oncology (Cancer) and Neonatal (Paediatrics) treatment were discussed for hospitals listed under the PMJAY-MA scheme.
According to the government announcement, it is now mandatory for the hospitals included in the panel to register under the Clinical Establishment Act. Suggestions were also asked from the senior doctors present at the meeting.
The statement said several teams of state anti-fraud units would be formed at the district and state levels which would “conduct surprise visits and take necessary action regarding suspicious activities of listed hospitals based on complaints”. In addition to this, the new guidelines, which have been prepared after detailed discussions and consultations with expert doctors, include manpower, equipment and necessary licenses as well as certification, clinical procedures, etc. Apart from the SOPs prepared earlier for cardiology treatment under this scheme, Tumor Board Certificates (TBCs) will now be made mandatory for certain cancer treatments, for which an online portal will be developed by the State Health Agency (SHA). Also, some packages for cancer treatment will also be modified. New guidelines have also been developed for neonatal care, especially for children in the ICU. Issues such as mandatory CCTV installation for facilities like NICU/SNCU are also covered in the new norms.
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