New regulations

Changing scenario: patients wi (Credit: Pradip Saha / CSE)hospitals will soon be under an obligation to hand over medical records to the patients. Failure to provide the treatment records will lead to imprisonment. This is one of the major provisions of a new law, which is soon going to be introduced by the Union government.

The bill is being introduced following the death of former Union power minister, P R Kumaramangalam and the difficulties the health ministry faced in getting his case papers. Ministry officials said that often many hospitals do not hand over case papers. This law will ensure that hospitals maintain proper treatment records. Another bill -- stating guidelines for infrastructure and expertise of nursing homes -- is now being considered by the Union law ministry. According to a survey of the Voluntary Health Association of India, of 23 cities with populations of above a million, only nursing homes in Delhi and Mumbai are covered under municipal laws.