Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Restrictive Trade Practice at Hospitals in India

Soo.. I have been thinking of this for a while, and now want to ask - What makes hospitals retain patient records? When you are admitted, you are not allowed to see your own file. Why is that?

The way I see it, the only person who owns their health papers, is the patient. They are adults with sound mental capacity. They are perfectly capable of taking decisions. The only obligation of the hospital is to provide sound medical advice.

Hospitals retaining any papers at the time of discharge is not just a violation of the patient's privacy, it is also a Restrictive Trade Practice under the MRTP Act, 1970.

So, why would hospitals do such a thing?