Jaipur: When Covid’s proceedings are rising again due to the Omicron variant, the Rajastan state government defines the rights of patients, their attendants, and healthcare providers and provides a mechanism to remedy stakeholder dissatisfaction within the country. Drafted the first draft of the Health Rights Act. According to a senior Rajasthan government official.
A senior Rajasthan government official familiar with development said the bill would be introduced at a state legislature budget meeting, which is likely to begin in March, after it has been approved by the state cabinet. The officials cited above said the final draft would be prepared for Cabinet review after consultation with all stakeholders.
Rajasthan’s Prime Minister Ashok Gehlot has announced in the 2021 budget that the state will give everyone the right to health.He also announced a valuable universal health insurance system ￡All families in the state receive medical insurance benefits of up to Rs 350 billion ￡50,000 rupees.
According to the authorities, the right to health guarantees certain rights to people in government and private health care institutions.
“The Rajasthan government already offers facilities such as free medicine and testing, and Chiranjeevi health insurance. ￡50,000 rupees etc. This law guarantees not only effective implementation, but also the rights of patients and their attendants, “he said.
He said the bill provides for the right of a patient or his attendant to know the cost of treatment for a particular illness, and the right to consult another doctor if he or she is not satisfied with the treatment and seek discharge of the patient. .. The bill also requires hospitals to keep patient health records confidential and to give informed consent when sharing health records.
“The purpose is to ensure fair and affordable medical care and treatment for patients with dignity and respect, as well as transparency in the operation of the health system,” said another senior official of the Department of Health.
For this reason, a second official stated that the hospital needs to disclose to the patient or his attendant the illness, the treatment adopted, and the right to a second opinion from another doctor.
Officials said another highlight of the proposed bill was the management of human resources in all government health institutions in urban and rural areas by the proportion of health care workers.
“Health staff is usually seen as overkill in urban areas and inadequate in rural areas. The law ensures that there are similarities in medical staff to patients and posts. The transfer and posting policy will come into effect, ensuring that healthcare workers have to work in rural areas, “he said. Officials added that a similar policy has been in place in Tamil Nadu since 1991 and has been successful in improving local health care.
A third party dealing with health problem rights said the new law would provide for fixed prices for drugs and treatments, even in private hospitals where patient intake is increasing each year. “The bill also provides for amendments to fees and packages, whether in private hospitals, heart transplants or liver transplants,” he said.
A third official said the bill provided for block, district and state complaints and relief mechanisms. “The government constitutes the state’s health authorities to correct dissatisfaction and issue hospital standards such as pricing and basic facilities provided. It consists of elected representatives, locals, health and government. The Commission is composed at all levels to remedy dissatisfaction, whether it is related to behavior, infrastructure, medicine, treatment or accidents, “he said.
The state government also includes legal provisions in RTH, such as Rajasthan Medicare Service Personnel and Medicare Service Institutions Act, Rajasthan Epidemic Act, a third official said.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ashok Jerot said he was waiting for the central government’s rules under the Clinical Establishment Act to clarify that everything could be part of the rights to health law. The rules set the minimum standards for all clinics and hospitals, including private ones. “The final touch on the bill will be given when the rules come. We are in the process of drafting in consultation with stakeholders.” When the rules are notified, the state will initiate health rights in an appropriate manner. “Gehlot said.
Dr. Narendra Gupta, Rajasthan Convenor of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), said why the need to enact health care rights is more urgent following the Covid-19 pandemic why health care rights have caused havoc. And he said it was getting serious. By infecting more than 257 million and 5.1 million deaths in a short period of time worldwide. In India alone, government records show that about 350 million rupees were infected and more than 46,000 rupees died.
“There is always the possibility of a recurrence of this or new pandemic, and it’s time for health care laws to be enacted to prevent catastrophic financial difficulties for citizens to access health care,” he said. I did. He added that India’s health care costs are about 3.5% of GDP, which is 1.15% public spending, which is lower than any other country in the world except for some countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. I did.
Nikhil Dey, a human rights activist and RTI activist who participated in the bill talks, emphasized the implementation of health rights. “We have proposed to put the draft in the public domain. Human resource policy and grievance mechanisms are the most important aspects of the bill. Without a remedy mechanism where accountability should be, rights and qualifications are meaningless. Social audits should be done at all levels, both CHC and PHC, “he said.
Dr. Vijay Kapoor, Secretary-General of the Jaipur Private Hospital and Nursing Home Association, seems good because all government plans are for the well-being of the people, but the government should also consider the interests of the hospital. Said. “People’s sentiment is already against doctors and medical fraternity is facing problems. The new policy should not affect our work. Medical professionals need free work. “.
According to the 71st NSSO Survey conducted in 2017, nearly 50 million people fall into poverty each year or are stuck in poverty due to payments for medical care. Most of this spending is spent on medicines, medical consultations, etc. The 64th NSSO in 2004 noted that out-of-pocket health care was the second main reason for local debt, with nearly a quarter of patients self-medicated. .. Gupta said he got sick because of financial difficulties.
The Constitution of India does not explicitly recognize the right to health as a fundamental right under Part III (Basic Rights) of the Constitution. However, through judicial interpretation, this has been read into the fundamental right to life and individual liberty (Article 21) and is now considered an integral part of the right to life, legal experts say. They added that the Directive Principles of National Policy set out in Chapter IV of the Constitution require states to protect people’s health.
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