The AIIMS, which plans to do away with user charges on diagnostic procedures, like blood tests and X-rays, which cost less than Rs 500, has conducted a pilot study to justify its proposal. The study comes in the wake of the Union Health Ministry prodding the premier medical institute to furnish information about reviewing user charges which have not been changed in the last 20 years. The study also stated that the patients encountered long queues for dates for prescribed investigations, for the payment of user charges and then for the investigations on the scheduled days. A committee headed by Dr Anoop Saraya, head of department of the Gastroenterology at the AIIMS, constituted to review the user fee charges at the hospital have submitted its report. “It is recommended that the charges on low cost investigations or interventions (below Rs 500 per test) should be eliminated,” Saraya said in his report.

Source: Indian Express November 16, 2017 10:41 UTC