Saturday, February 29, 2020

CAN ADMIT PATIENTS UNDER CMCHISTN

Hospital that admitted to bribing back on govt panel

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:29.02.2020

The state health department has brought back Gleneagles Global Hospitals into the list of empanelled hospitals under the state health insurance scheme, three months after it suspended the hospital citing “moral hazard” and “publicinterest”. The temporary suspension was following reports that it offered money to ambulance drivers and paramedics for bringing patients to its facility.

Incidentally, an inquiry committee appointed by the state health department in its report said that the hospital admitted to paying money to some drivers and paramedics. The letters to Directorate of Medical Services recommending action under the Clinical Establishments Act andtostatetransplant authority, Transtan for “suspension of transplant licence” are still pending. But more than two weeks ago, the state revoked the “suspension”. “Action based on the inquiry is still pending action,” senior health department official said.

The officials in the health department refused to comment further, but a Global Hospital spokesman said one of the hospital employees was found paying money to get patients into the hospital.

“We have removed him from the company rolls. We told the government he does not work with us anymore. After the inquiry, we were allowed to treat patients covered by the state health insurance scheme,” he said.

In September, former employees of the hospital complained to the government that the hospital was offering money to ambulance drivers and paramedics to bring patients including road accident victims into their emergency room. They told TOI that cash they gave to drivers soon after the drop ranged between ₹700 and ₹5,000 and the hospital transfers a percentage of the total bill as commission after the patient is discharged, they said, showing ‘entries’ of ₹45,000 shown as being deposited into back accounts of some EMRI staff.

A fortnight later, GVKEmergency Management and Research Institute, an agency outsourced by the health department to run 108 ambulances, dismissed10 of its contract employees and placed nine other permanent employees on suspension after an internal inquiry against its drivers and paramedics.

Almost simultaneously, the health department ordered a detailed inquiry by a team of officials and suspended the hospital from empanelled list of hospitals for the chief minister’s comprehensive health insurance scheme of Tamil Nadu (CMCHISTN ).

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