Prayut urged to ban private hospital collecting charges on emergency patients

The Thai Medical Error Network yesterday made another call on the prime minister to ban private hospital from collecting advance deposit or from mandating relatives of patients to sign medical bills acceptance from within the first 72 hours after their emergency admissions.

The network, led by Mrs Preeyanan Lorsermvattana, thanked Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha after its first call was quickly responded.

The network on Tuesday filed a petition, signed by 33,000 people, calling on Gen Prayut to impose controls on private hospital’s charging of medical service fees which they said are unreasonably high.

Gen Prayut later instructed the Public Health and Commerce ministries to set median prices for medical care and medicines provided by private hospitals.

In a second statement, the network proposes the government to impose short-term or interim measures within a month which include banning private hospitals from collecting deposit or from mandating relatives of patients to sign agreement to accept responsibility for medical bills within the first 72 hours after emergency admissions.

After the 72-hour period, it proposes that the hospital must transfer the patient to a hospital where his or her healthcare is covered by the universal healthcare scheme.

However, in the situation of no available bed, three agencies which comprises the National Health Security Office (NHSO), Social Security Office and the Comptroller General’s Department must step in to help provide a bed for the patient.

For medium- and long-term proposals, the network called on the prime minister to pass the Medical Malpractice Victim Protection draft law and amend the 1982 Medical Profession Act for better transparency and justice for the public.

It also reiterated its call for the prime minister to execute Section 44 of the interim constitution to dissolve the Medical Council’s elected board and select new board members to avoid conflict of interest.

Thai PBS

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