THE New Nation on Saturday reported that people have been suffering as many diagnostic centers across the country are charging the patients much higher cost for most pathological tests. As there is no fixed price list for different pathological tests in private diagnostic centers, people have to pay unusually more. As the government hospitals are suffering from inadequate facilities and faulty obsolete machinery for which patients in government hospitals are compelled to go to private diagnosis centers. Even, in government hospitals the supposed to be free pathological and imaging tests are not free for patients as because the pathologists there illegally charge the patients. Besides, wrong pathology reports make the patient worst sufferers.
News reports said private hospitals, from the shiny to the makeshift range, are not made accountable for their faulty diagnosis report as it is seemingly impossible to know whether the report is accurate or not until further test is made in another diagnostic center. Many private hospitals mainly situated in Upazila and District levels use faulty machinery and even sometimes without diagnosis they make fake reports. As government health services are inadequate and not considered good, majority people are compelled to receive health care service at private hospitals where government control is almost nil. Government officials are not keeping eyes on private hospitals’ unethical business on pathology tests.
We observed that the doctors’ tendency to unnecessary pathological tests for hefty commission also forced patients to go for such tests in certain centers at high costs. The Transparency International Bangladesh in 2014 found that doctors in the private sector get 30-50 percent commission from diagnostic centers for referring patients. And diagnosis machinery remain out of order in government hospitals most of the time due to purchasing of poor quality machines and damaging intentionally to offer opportunity for nearby private clinics and hospitals and the doctors.
The government in 2010 issued a circular fixing pathological test cost for government hospitals but the hospital authorities hardly follow the chart and people are not aware of such chart. Meanwhile, the National Health Policy-2011 suggested for keeping diagnosis costs in the private sector at a tolerable level, but no initiative has been taken yet to fix a uniform path lab charge. As per the law, the Health Directorate is supposed to regularly inspect the private clinics, but it is not done.
People intended to get true diagnosis of their diseases as a prerequisite of healing diseases are often charged high by private hospitals and due to physicians’ greed to get commission from the poor patients’ find such treatment not affordable. It is suggested that the government should at least fix the lab tests charges at a uniform rate so that the patients can get some relief.
