Stricter ventilator rules for private hospitals

Obtaining informed consent, usage-based billing, and the public display of charges are among the Centre's latest guidelines to regulate the use of highcost ventilators in private hospitals.

- Priyanka Sharma

Guidelines for Transparency in Ventilator Usage by Private Hospitals, posted on the Directorate General of Health Services website recently, and reviewed by Mint, aim to ensure that this lifesaving treatment is used ethically and not asa tool for financial exploitation.

“The government aims to restore trust in the private healthcare system and ensure that critical care does not remain achallenge or a source of financial distress,” said an official close to the development, on the condition of anonymity.