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हिन्दी 
KOLKATA: The West Bengal assembly on Tuesday passed the West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) (Amendment) Bill, 2025 which requires clinical establishments to “prominently display fixed rates and package charges at a conspicuous place within the facility” to bring transparency into the functioning of clinical establishments.
The bill also proposes to make it mandatory for all private hospitals and nursing homes to “maintain electronic medical records for each patient through approved software”.
The bill also said that proper estimates of all treatment charges, which do not fall within the ambit of packages and fixed charges, must be provided to the patient’s family before treatment commences.
“Every clinical establishment shall strictly follow the fixed rates and charges, including the package rates, for investigation, bed charges, operation theatre procedures,” the bill passed by the assembly said.
Minister of state for health Chandrima Bhattacharya introduced the bill in the assembly on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, faulted the bill, saying it should have had provisions for the safety and security of doctors and nurses in the hospitals.
“It seems that the state government hasn’t learnt any lesson from the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case. The bill has nothing on safety and security of doctors and nurses. This bill may suit the bigger hospitals in the cities but not the small establishments in the districts. Where is the infrastructure in smaller private hospitals and nursing homes in the districts for e-prescriptions and e-budget? This will force more patients to go out of the state for medical treatment,” Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition, told reporters.
Hospital associations welcomed the legislation, saying it would bring transparency in bills and treatment costs.
“It is a very good initiative. It would bring more transparency and do away with the misunderstanding about packages and treatment costs. But we also have to keep in mind that medical treatment is very dynamic. In many cases, it doesn’t follow a set pattern. So, if the treatment costs exceed the package costs, it should be reviewed unbiasedly and scientifically,” Rupak Barua, managing director and chief executive officer of Woodlands Hospital and president of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India, said in a video message.
