New RT-PCR test rate reduced, some laboratories may prevent collection
On Monday, the state government limited the domestic collection of RT-PCR samples to around 800 to 700 and laboratory collection to around 500 to 350, under several conditions.
Nagpur: After another rate cut by the state government, several private laboratories across the city have said that they can only go for home collection and also freeze laboratory samples, which is not feasible at all.
On Monday, the state government limited the domestic collection of RT-PCR samples to around 800 to 700 and laboratory collection to around 500 to 350, under several conditions. If taken from a hospital, testing center, or quarantine center, Rs 100 is reduced and Rs 500 is charged.
The government aims to encourage more testing as the numbers are becoming less and less.
Many lab owners have also said that only reagents have come down in prices. While the overheads including salaries of technicians, consumables, electricity bills, data entry operators, and biomedical waste charges each have gone up.
Revised rates are not fair
According to the mandate, the cost of each essential consumables such as PPE and VTM kit will be borne by the sample provider. And lab owners have also said that people feel they are being charged more at the time they are told about the final cost of testing and consumables.
The secretary of the Vidarbha Association of Medical Microbiologists, whose name is Dr. Dinesh Agrawal. He has said that the revised rates are not fair at all. They are not at all sufficient to cover the cost of the kit including that of chemicals, PPE, and other consumables. Ultimately, cleanliness will also suffer a great deal. Services and quality may also be hampered.
Dr. Dinesh has acknowledged that many labs are also planning to stop OPD sampling. He also said that those who have their own assets and sets may also be able to survive in the new circumstances. But some people have rented out the space and there is a possibility that the collection in the laboratories will also be stopped.
Dr. Dinesh has also said that even now there can be a profit margin of Rs 100 for the diagnostic lab. But this is too little to cover the cost of the process. He has also said that there are only about 35 laboratories in Nagpur district as compared to only 5 or 6 earlier. And the samples are also very less these days. In such a situation, some are running at a loss. Except for SarsCov2, RTPCR machines cannot be used for other diagnostic techniques at all. And the cost of setting up a lab is around Rs 40 lakh.
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