Bangladesh to start private outpatient service at state-run hospitals on Thursday

The service will initially be available at 10 district and 20 upazila hospitals, Health Minister Zahid Maleque says

Bangladesh is going to allow physicians to run private outpatient services at government hospitals from Thursday.

A physician will be able to meet patients twice a week for a fee, from 3 pm to 6 pm, at the state-run hospitals, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said after a meeting on the ‘Institutional Practice Policy-2023’ at the Secretariat on Monday.

The service will initially be available at 10 district-level and 20 upazila-level hospitals and the initiative will be extended to other state-run health institutions in the future.

The government has also fixed Tk 500 as the fee for a senior professor under the initiative. A senior consultant will get Tk 300, an assistant physician Tk 200 and medical technologists and nurses Tk 50 each for their service, the minister said.

“We are trying to launch the service as a pilot project from Mar 30. Nurses and technologists will also work twice a week. The government will also get a portion of the income from the project.”

The minister said discussions are underway in phases to find out the reasons behind a spike in the cost of medical care in Bangladesh. Officials have recently conducted a drive at different district and upazila hospitals to check the quality of service, he said.