Fortis case: Hospital charged 1,208% more for medical devices

The national pricing body, through its letter dated November 25, had sought all the copies of the invoice/bills raised, name of the medicines administered to the patient along with details of quantity or price charged to the patient.

According to the bills uploaded to the NPPA website, after they were submitted to it, the procurement cost of the disposable syringes were Rs 15.29 but the family was charged Rs 200 per syringe. The procurement prices for three way stop cocks, used for infusion and invasive blood pressure monitoring, was Rs 5.77, however, the hospital charged the parents Rs 106 per unit, making them earn a margin of 1,737 per cent.

Other equipments such as pressure monitoring line of 200 cm was procured by hospital at Rs 17 while the parents were charged Rs 225 per pressure monitoring line, making the hospital earn a margin of 1,201 per cent.

The hospital had procured suction catheter thumb control for Rs 7.65 but the family was charged Rs 64 per piece.

According to the reports, the hospital charged the patient's family for every medical equipments by over 25 to 1,208 per cent.

"NPPA will be taking up necessary action as per the existing law, " said an order by the NPPA issued on Friday.

Adya, a Class 2 student, developed high fever on August 27. Her Dwarka-based family said they rushed her to Rockland Hospital in Dwarka two days later.

Tests confirmed she was suffering from dengue. However, since her condition worsened and Rockland suggested that she be transferred to another hospital, she was taken to Fortis where she remained on life support for two weeks.

Fortis raised a bill for 1,600 gloves, 660 syringes, high-end antibiotics, and sugar strips, according to family member.

"On September 14, an MRI revealed extensive damage to the brain. We decided to take her to another hospital, but Fortis doctors refused to even facilitate an ambulance," the girl's father had said in a statement when the case came into limelight.

Adya died September 14-15 midnight while being shifted to Rockland Hospital without life-support equipment in the ambulance.

The case came to light after bereaved father Jayant Singh's friend posted it on Twitter on November 17, recounting how the family was billed "Rs 16 lakh, including for 1,600 gloves" but the girl could not be saved.

According to the reports of NPPA, the highest margins were earned in consumables such as like syringes, catheters, IV sets, blood transfusion sets, gloves and masks. The hospital constituted, along with drugs 30-40 per cent of most hospital bills.

The pricing body also in its reports unveiled that the hospital earned 900 per cent margins on some non-scheduled drugs and up to 300 per cent on many scheduled (under price control) drugs.

"The blood transfusion sets which were procure at Rs 12.85 were charged for Rs 126 with 881 per cent margin and gloves for examination were procured for Rs 1.34 but sold at Rs 9.50 with a margin of 609 per cent," said the NPPA, adding three-way extension line was procured for Rs 18.48 while it was sold at Rs 225 with a margin of 1,118 per cent.

Following the incident, two FIRs, including that of culpable homicide, have been registered against Gurugram's Fortis hospital management and doctors. 

The hospital will also face civil action on three counts in the case, a Haryana government official told IANS, adding that Health Minister Anil Vij had already ordered for both criminal and civil action against the Fortis Memorial Research Institute.