The High Court on Monday directed government to give wide publicity to the cost of coronary stents available in hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar and Justice Tashi Rabstan directed commissioner secretary, health and family welfare, to give publicity to the cost of stents as per the notification issued by national pharmaceutical authority of India (NPPA) on February 13, 2017.
Hearing a public interest litigation petition against medical corruption, the court also directed the government to monitor properly diagnostic and cancer centers in the state to prevent unfair practice and overcharging at these centres.
On 25 July 2017, the High Court had sought information about the complaints government had received against doctors who overcharge patients and the action taken during the past two years.
The court had directed the government to give wide publicity to the circular issued by NPPA under union ministry of chemicals and fertilizers whereby ceiling prices of “coronary stents” were fixed.
The publicity was to be given in 10 newspapers having wide circulation.
As per the notification NPPA has fixed Rs 7260 as ceiling price for Bare Metal Stent while as the Rs 29600 has been fixed for Drug Eluting Stents (DES) including metallic DES and Bioresorbable vascular Scaffold (BVS)/ Biodegradable stents.
On 26 October 2016, the High Court took a suo-moto cognizance of two write-ups published in ‘The Hindu’ and Greater Kashmir on ‘medical corruption’ and issued a notice to Government of India and the state government while treating the articles as PIL.