Though government has enforced uniform rates for diagnostic tests in both urban and rural area hospitals lying under its control but there is no control over rates for diagnostic tests in private diagnostic laboratories across Jammu & Kashmir and more so in Kashmir valley. The inability of health & medical education department to bring about uniformity in rates for diagnostic tests in both government hospitals and private nursing homes shows that accountability in healthcare sector has been reduced to government hospital only. Leaving private nursing homes and diagnostic laboratories free to enforce the rates for diagnostic tests at their own whims and wishes shows the casual approach of health & medical education department on accountability in private healthcare sector. A single administrative controlling authority for healthcare facilities has been in fact devised with the purposes of providing people access to healthcare facilities without any disparity. Uniformity not only in the rates of the diagnostic tests in both private and government hospitals but also in delivery of other health services should have become a new norm under the present dispensation in Jammu & Kashmir. The lack of assertiveness shown by the health & medical education department in enforcing uniformity in the delivery of services and facilities in both the private and government hospitals is intensifying the increasing exploitation of gullible patients more in private hospitals and less in government hospitals. Never forget people that diagnostic tests are conducted free of cost in government hospitals in Delhi.
The time when the intensity of the covid-19 pandemic has reduced unprecedentedly in Jammu & Kashmir like many states and union territories of the country, the people expect a shift in the attention of health department from covid control measures to a strong vigil over delivery of basic health services and facilities in both the private and government hospitals and more so in remote rural areas in both Kashmir valley and as well as Jammu division.
The issues concerning basic health facilities by all probabilities deserve the immediate attention and intervention of the government as the poor delivery of basic health services and facilities speaks volumes about the poor management of government’s health care system and reducing accountability of the private healthcare sector in both Kashmir valley and as well as Jammu division. The most ticklish issue is the challenge of uniformity in the delivery of services of the hospitals controlled by both the health and medical education departments in Jammu & Kashmir. The time when the intensity of the covid-19 pandemic has reduced unprecedentedly in Jammu & Kashmir like many states and union territories of the country, the people expect a shift in the attention of the government from covid control measures to a strong vigil over delivery of basic health services and facilities in both the private and government hospitals and more so in the uniformity of rates for diagnostic tests at private diagnostic laboratories.
