Bill to regulate healthcare soon

To enhance India's appeal as a provider of critical services to patients from the US and Europe, the Centre plans to ensure a uniform level of service in hospitals.

The Cabinet today cleared a Bill for setting an apex registration and regulatory body for healthcare institutions. The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2007, is meant to provide a model legislative framework for registration and regulation of all medical establishments, including tertiary hospitals, diagnostic centres and clinics. The Bill would be introduced in the forthcoming session of Parliament.

The Bill is aimed at improving "the quality of health services by prescribing minimum standards for facilities," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi told reporters after the Cabinet decision. "It will also initiate the process for creation of a national registry of clinical establishments," he added.

The government hopes the regulatory system will help improve the quality of health services by prescribing minimum standards.

Standardising services and government accreditation will also help boost medical tourism in India, where hospitals typically charge less than a quarter of the rates in Europe or the US.

Health care for overseas patients is expected to bring Rs 10,000 crore ($2.44 billion) of revenue a year to Indian hospitals by 2012, according to a report by McKinsey & Co and the Confederation of Indian Industry.