Medical associations in Telangana have rejected broad allegations that private doctors and hospitals routinely charge high consultation fees and impose expensive investigations, while calling for evidence-based action against providers found indulging in unethical or irrational practices.
The Indian Medical Association, Warangal, and the Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association, Telangana, said practices attributed to a few doctors or corporate hospitals should not be generalised across the medical profession. Their response followed purported remarks by MLC Vijayashanti on consultation fees and investigation costs in private hospitals, according to a report by Deccan Chronicle.
The associations said they supported measures to prevent unnecessary investigations, irrational treatment and excessive billing wherever such practices were established. At the same time, they said portraying doctors and private hospitals as routinely exploiting patients was unfair and could damage the medical profession.
HRDA president Dr Karthik Nagula said consultation charges were not uniformly fixed at ₹1,000–₹1,500. According to him, fees varied depending on a doctor’s qualification, speciality, experience, location and the type of healthcare facility.
Nagula also disputed the suggestion that every patient reporting with fever was subjected to investigations costing ₹15,000–₹30,000. He said the investigations required depended on the patient’s clinical condition, the duration and severity of the illness, age, comorbidities, examination findings and the doctor’s clinical judgement.
Investigations required for complicated or serious illnesses could not be compared with those for simple, self-limiting fever, he said. The associations did not argue against scrutiny of medical bills. Instead, they called for transparent billing, rational investigation protocols and informed consent to protect patients from unnecessary expenditure.
The medical bodies also said the financial structure of small and medium-sized hospitals differed from that of large corporate hospitals. Private hospitals incur recurring costs related to doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff, building rent, infrastructure, medical equipment, loan instalments, maintenance contracts, electricity, biomedical waste management, fire safety, municipal and professional taxes and other statutory compliances, they said.
The associations nevertheless maintained that any doctor or hospital found engaging in unethical or irrational practices should face action based on evidence against the concerned individual or institution. Their position places the emphasis on establishing specific violations rather than treating the practices of individual providers as representative of the entire private healthcare sector.
HRDA also called for stronger primary and urban healthcare facilities. It urged the government to improve infrastructure, medicines and diagnostic services at primary and urban health centres and to provide round-the-clock doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff.
The association said strengthening these facilities would help make quality healthcare more accessible to poor and vulnerable sections. The report did not specify any government decision or implementation timeline for the requested improvements.
