The government will prepare a guideline for the private hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres to fix their service charges and test fees based on their standard.
The government has taken the move to ease financial burden on the ordinary patients.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Zahid Maleque disclosed this at a press briefing on Sunday after a meeting on fixing service charges and test fees by the private hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres in the country, held at the conference room of the ministry at the Secretariat.
"High test fees and service charges at different private hospitals have become a cause of concern for the ordinary people (patients). We (the government) will form a committee within the current month. The committee will prepare a guideline to fix service charges and test fees of private hospitals depending on their category," he said.
The minister also said services at the private healthcare centres will improve and patients will have no reason to spend extra money after the fixation of charges and fees.
Elaborating the categories, he said there will be A,B,C and D- category private hospitals based on the number of beds, medical equipment, location and facilities.
The government will fix charges and test fees depending on the categories.
Once the private hospitals are categorised, the people could easily assess the quality of the hospitals, the standard of the treatment, and facilities they provide and their cost.
Mr Maleque said there has been a mushroom growth of private hospitals and clinics everywhere in the country.
He admitted that some private hospitals and clinics are providing quality services to the patients while most of them cannot do so.
He said the irregularities such as scarcity of doctors, lack of standard medical equipment and beds at most of the private hospitals and clinics will not be allowed to continue.
Regarding Nipah virus, the minister said so far eight persons have been affected with the virus. And out of them five have died.
He called upon the country people to be cautious while drinking date juice during the current winter season.
Director general of the Directorate General of Health Services Prof ABM Khurshid Alam, President of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) Dr Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, President of Swadhinta Chikitshak Parishad Dr Jamal Uddin Chowdhury and Secretary General Prof Qamrul Hasan Milon, President of Bangladesh Private Medical Association Dr Mobin Khan and Secretary General Anwar Hossain Khan MP and high officials of the ministry were present, among others, at the meeting.
