Pune: Doctor’s Prescription Condition For COVID Test May Be Removed
Mrunal Jadhav
Pune, September 18, 2020: Laboratories are charging Rs 1,600 for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests in Pune. If a person wants to test in a laboratory it is necessary to have a doctor’s prescription. As the administration has decided to track more Coronavirus patients, the citizens are demanding to exclude the condition of prescription from the doctor for testing.
The government had reduced Rs 600- Rs 800 from September 8 for COVID-19 testing. The amount is now set at Rs 1,200 for lab testing, Rs 1,600 for testing at a hospital or COVID Care Centre and Rs 2,000 for testing suspects at its home.
Instead of taking Rs 1,200 for lab testing, they take Rs 1,600 stating the high costs of PPE kits, sample collection equipment, etc. Most of the laboratories testing people at their respective homes have made it mandatory to have a prescription from an MBBS doctor. People have to pay more at homes.
Most people are inclined to test in private labs, but a doctor’s prescription is necessary. 75,312 people are tested per million population in the district, the number of tests in Pune is the highest in the country.
An average 10,000 to 12,000 tests are performed every day. Soon the discussion will be held whether to cancel the condition of having a doctor’s prescription for testing in private laboratories, said district collector Rajesh Deshmukh.
