The State Health Department has directed private medical establishments to update all COVID-19 related details of their institutions in the government’s Facility App, failing which action will be initiated against them. An order to this effect has been issued by Health Director Om Prakash Patil.
“Some private medical establishments are cooperating with the government in admissions and clinical case management of the positive patients referred by the government or the local body. But not all are updating details on the app on a regular and timely basis. This is causing hardship and delays in total data harvesting for planning and implementing screening, referral, treatment, and follow up,” the order said. Hence, all private medical establishments should mandatorily update all COVID-19 details on the app or face action, the order added.
In another order, the Health Department directed private hospitals to compulsorily test patients with Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) for COVID-19. Although private hospitals have been entering details of ILI/SARI patients who are coming to their clinics on the prescribed portal, they are not sending the patients for testing to swab collection centres.
‘Late identification’
Delay in testing such patients would result in late identification of COVID-19 in them, the order said.
The hospitals should test such patients for COVID-19 in their facility if they have in-house testing facility or draw their swab and send to the ICMR-approved private or government labs.
The private establishments can charge ₹200 per patient, while the testing is free in government labs, the order added.
