Private hospitals directed to charge reasonably for treatment

PUTRAJAYA: Private hospitals and other related parties including private medical parctitioners, managed care organisations (MCO) and insurance companies are instructed to impose reasonable rates for healthcare and medical treatment provided.

Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said the ministry would monitor the charges continuously and would take stern action to ensure that all the charges were detailed and transparent.

"This will eventually enable the patients to make a choice in seeking medical treatment at any medical and healthcare service facility as long as they have adequate information on the rates to be imposed," he said in a statement here today.

Dr Mohd Ismail said there were also private hospitals that were pressured by their shareholders to impose certain hospital charges in order to achieve their Key Performance Indicator (KPI), which led to a rise in healthcare cost.

He said the Health Ministry would monitor the private hospitals and private medical practitioners to ensure there was no abuse in the health benefits provided through the insurance companies by carrying out various procedures and checks which were not required by their patients. - BERNAMA