The government has threatened to take legal action against private hospitals that refuse to provide production cost information for their medicines and medical services.
According to Whichai Phochanakij, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, the working group tasked with studying the production cost of medicines and medical services asked all private hospitals to supply information on such production costs on Jan 31, but only half complied.
"We would like to emphasise that by April 4, all private hospitals, regardless of size, must submit the data to the working group or they will face penalties according to the 1999 Prices of Goods and Services Act," Mr Whichai said.
According to the act, those who refuse to supply information to the regulator violate Section 18 and are subject to up to three months in jail, a fine of up to 5,000 baht or both.
The working panel will use information available to evaluate the appropriate production costs of medicines, medical supplies and medical services, while considering whether prices charged by private hospitals are exaggerated.
Mr Whichai said there are more than 40,000 prices being reviewed for medicines and medical supplies, of which 30,000 are medicines and the remainder medical supplies.
In January, the first meeting of the subcommittee handling supervisory measures for medicines, medical supplies and medical services agreed to issue an official announcement requiring private hospitals to show the price tags for medicines, medical supplies and medical service charges so that consumers would be aware of prices before deciding to use services -- part of ongoing efforts to deal with price gouging amid growing concerns over the high cost of private medical care.
The price tags must be easily visible and understandable. They start with 1,000 items in the initial period.
The subcommittee agreed that private hospitals should disclose and provide clear details of medical service charges, as well as additional charges if hospitals detect other diseases later on. Hospitals should also separate medical charges from other additional charges such as room rates.
The subcommittee, which includes representatives from the Office of Insurance Commission, the Commerce Ministry, the Thai General Insurance Association, consumer protection organisations and private hospitals, agreed to let patients at private hospitals buy medicine from drugstores using prescriptions given by doctors.
On Jan 22, the cabinet approved the Commerce Ministry's proposal to put medical and healthcare expenses on the state price control list as part of efforts to deal with price gouging amid growing concerns over the high cost of private medical care.