Monitoring of Healthcare Service provided under PPP Mode: Minister apprises parliament

New Delhi: Through a recent reply answer to the question in Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey informed about the Monitoring of Healthcare Service provided under PPP Mode.

The minister informed that while Public Health and Hospitals is a State subject, The National Health Mission offers flexibility to the States to provide healthcare services under Public Private Partnership mode depending upon its requirements.

Under the National Health Mission (NHM), technical and financial support is provided to States/UTs to strengthen their healthcare systems, based on the requirements posed by the States/UTs in their Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs).

This includes support for provision of healthcare services through Public Private Partnership mode for projects/programmes such as Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme, Free Diagnostic Service for high end low volume tests like Teleradiology Services & CT Scan Services, Ambulance Services, Biomedical Equipment Management Maintenance Programme, National Quality Assurance Programme and other ancillary services duly sharing the suggested guidelines with them.

States may contract in or outsource those services which improve efficiency and quality of care in public health facilities or close the existing critical gaps.    The areas of overall supervision and monitoring of these PPP arrangements, including identification of services, private partner, terms of engagement, payment, etc. lie within the jurisdiction of the respective State Government.

Further, under the Revised National TB Control Programme, there is a provision of engagement of NGOs/private providers for expanding free diagnosis or treatment services under the National Guidelines on Partnerships.

Government of India has enacted Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 and notified the Clinical Establishments (Central Government) Rules, 2012 for registration and regulation of clinical establishments including private healthcare establishments.   The provisions of the said Act  and rules are given below:

Government of India has enacted Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 and notified the Clinical Establishments (Central Government) Rules, 2012 for registration  and regulation of clinical establishments including private healthcare establishments. The States may adopt the Act under clause (1) of Article 252 of the Constitution.

The Act provides for registration and regulation of the clinical establishments providing both therapeutic and/or diagnostic services belonging to all recognised systems of medicine from both Government and private sector (except those of Armed Forces) with a view to prescribing minimum standards of facilities and services as may be provided by them. .

In accordance with the aforesaid rules, the States/Union Territories where the said Act is in force, the clinical establishments are inter-alia required to follow Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) issued by the Central/State Governments, display the rates charged for each type of services provided and facilities available, at a conspicuous place and charge rate for each type of procedure and service within the range of rates determined from time to time in consultation with the State Governments.

The National Council for Clinical Establishments has approved a standard list of medical procedures and a standard template for costing of medical procedures and shared the same with the States and Union Territories for appropriate action by them.

At present, the Clinical Establishments Act is applicable in 11 States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan, Assam and Haryana and all Union Territories (except Delhi).