Doctors Association Kashmir on May 22 sought free diagnostic tests including MRI, CT and PET scan for patients at government-run hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir.

“That would bring huge relief to poor patients,” DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan said. He said poor patients go to public hospitals with a hope that free treatment will be given to them, but they leave these health institutions without treatment because they cannot afford the expenses of medical tests.

“Despite availability of latest equipment at government hospitals, patients do not have access to them because of financial  constraints,” he said, adding all these advances are meaningless if patients cannot avail them. Dr Hassan said government hospitals are no less than private hospitals when it comes to spending money. “Rs 3700 is charged to a patient for a contrast enhanced CT scan while for CT angiography patient has to pay Rs 4200. For contrast enhanced MRI and MR angiography, patient is charged Rs 3700 each,” he said.

The DAK president said PET scan, which is used to detect cancer costs Rs 15,000 to the patient. “Patient has to pay Rs 5,500 for coronary angiography which is done to diagnose blocked or narrowed vessels in a heart attack patient,” he added. Dr Hassan said while these diagnostic tests are vital for making effective decision about treatment, they are out of reach for poor. He said from simple tests like CBC, KFT, LFT, Lipid profile, thyroid function, urine examination to x-ray, ECG, Echo, USG and Endoscopy, patients are being charged.

Dr Hassan said while J&K government has announced free drugs in public hospitals, patients have to pay even for life-saving  medicines. “If someone gets a heart attack, he/she has to pay Rs 30,000 for tenecteplase, a thrombolytic drug that dissolves clot in clogged arteries and restores blood flow to heart,” he said. “Poor have to end up on compromise in treatment as they cannot afford this costly drug. Patients have to pay for high-end antibiotics that are unaffordable to poor patients and doctors end up prescribing less effective drugs to them,” he added.