Following several protests from doctors, the controversial Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) amendments bill was passed in the state legislative assembly on Wednesday removing a provision for sending doctors to jail for negligence.
The Bill was tabled in the Karnataka Assembly to enhance transparency in private medical establishments and to empower the state government to fix uniform package rates for treatment and procedures under the health assurance schemes of the government.
On Tuesday, Karnataka Minister for Health and Family Welfare KR Ramesh Kumar tabled the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill (KPME), 2017.
This Bill also provides for levy of monetary penalty in case of non-compliance to the patient's charter or private medical establishment's charter.