-The Times of India MUZAFFARPUR: The toll in the outbreak of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Bihar rose to 114 on Wednesday with seven more deaths in the endemic zone even as reports came in of children being admitted with similar symptoms in other districts like Samastipur, Banka and Vaishali. Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur, where most of the patients have been undergoing treatment since the disease spread,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday ruled that private Delhi hospitals operating on subsidised government land will have to provide free treatment to patients belonging to economically weaker sections. The SC said that any violation of this agreement between private hospitals and the government - in the matter of how many beds have to be reserved for poor patients - will not be tolerated and it...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre's proposed rates of reimbursement to hospitals for various medical procedures under the National Health Protection Scheme are low and unsustainable and could compromise patient safety, an organisation representing hospitals has told the government. The Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI) has said the proposed rates are in general significantly lower than the costs that large tertiary-care hospitals typically incur on medical procedures.     The NHPS, announced...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: With a hammer in his hands to check the limb reflexes, a tape to measure the length of hands and legs and a goniometer to ensure precise measurement of angles, he looks more like a carpenter than a doctor. He carries no stethoscope like a regular doctor, but the orthopaedic expert has caught the attention of Bill Gates, no less, with the work he has...

-The Indian Express Instead of cancelling hospital licences, bring in patient centric laws, institutional capacity to enforce them. The grievous error in declaring a live baby dead by the capital’s Max hospital, following closely on the heels of Fortis hospital charging exorbitant amounts for the treatment of a seven-year-old child diagnosed with dengue, seem to have pushed things to a tipping point. The government responded by cancelling the licence of Max — a...