Private health care facilities in the country are no more permitted to hike their fees without approval from the Supreme Council of Health (SCH).
All private clinics, hospitals and other facilities are now required to provide their price lists to the SCH while applying for a new licence or for renewal of the existing licence. Once they declared the prices, they will not be allowed to change or modify them without approval from the Medical Licensing Department (MLC) at the SCH.
The fee for various health care services charged by all such facilities will soon be made available at the SCH website for the benefit of the public.
“We had been asking all private health care facilities to provide details about their prices to the Medical Licensing Department but many of them failed to respond. Now we have made it mandatory for all these facilities to submit their pricelists while seeking renewal of licences,” Dr Jamal Rashid Al Khanji, director of the Medical Licensing Department told The Peninsula.
He said all the new health care facilities seeking a licence to operate in the country were also required to provide details about their prices while applying for the licence.
The Department has already sent a circular to all private health care facilities informing them about the new rule, which is effective from the date of issuance of the circular.
“Health facilities may only charge fees set out in the pricelist submitted to the Medical Licensing Department (MLD). Any change or modification of fees for treatment services is subject to approval by the MLD,” said the circular.
The circular has categorically said that any application submitted without the price list would not be accepted.
“We will seek clarification if we find that the fees charged by any facility for a particular service is unjustified. We have no plans to interfere in fixing the prices, but we want to make sure that no facility charges exploitative fees,” said Al Khanji.
All the health care facilities will be asked to display their prices prominently at their premises for information of the public, said Al Khanji.
THE PENINSULA