Eight private hospitals in Maharashtra reused 1,306 catheters for more than 1,000 patients after charging them as much as 77% of the retail price, a Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) report revealed. “A number of medical devices are cleaned up and sterilised using ethylene oxide two to five times before being reused. The report found that private hospitals in Mulund, Vashi and Andheri were also selling catheters to patients for almost 200% to 300% its cost. Shockingly so, the hospitals were using the same products for fresh patients and charged them three-fourth of the retail price, earning very high margins. “Sadly, there are no legal provisions for reusing the medical devices like catheters or charging patients for the same,” said an official from the health department.

Source: Hindustan Times July 10, 2017 18:22 UTC