Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital in Mumbai has been slapped with a fine of Rs. 3.8 crore for anti-competitive practices by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the first time the increasingly assertive anti-trust regulator has penalised a hospital .
The CCI said the super-specialty hospital's exclusive agreement with stem cell banking company Cryobanks International India limited consumer choice and had the potential to mould consumer preferences and distort the market mechanism completely in the long run . "Such agreements notonly affect the competition adversely but are also against the spirit of health services and affectfreetradebesidesbeing anti-consumer ," the CCI said in its order .
The action against Hiranandani is basedon a complaintfiledlast year by Ramakant Kini , a lawyer and family friend of Mumbai resident M Anu Jain,who was denied maternity services by the hospital during the 38 th week of her pregnancy becauseshe refused to avail the services of Cryobanks . Jain preferred the stem cell banking services of Cryobanks ' main rival , Lifecell International , as she did during the birth of her first child .
The CCI observed that "there is an onerous responsibility on hospitals to behave ethically towards patients". Thanks to its punitive action , the CCI may have established itself as a quasiwatchdog in the grossly under-regulated Indian healthcare sector. The penalty has set a precedent for patients to complain against abuse of monopoly and exploitation by hospitals and other healthcare service providers , according to experts .
"The order signals the CCI's deep concern against anti-competitive and anti-consumer practices in a vital sector such as health services ," said Vinod Dhall , former CCI chairman . Dhall heads Vinod Dhall-TT &A, a legal firm specialising in competition law that represented Kini . Companies like Lifecell and Cryobanks collect, process and store blood from umbilicalcord— rich in stem cells — in the moments after birth . Stem cells are used in medical treatments .
Article referred: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CCI-fines-Hiranandani-Hospital-Rs-5040907.S.5848028311690694658?view=&gid=5040907&type=member&item=5848028311690694658&trk=eml-anet_dig-b_nd-pst_ttle-cn
Comment:
An amniotic stem cell bank is a facility that stores stem cells derived from amniotic fluid for future use. Stem cell samples in private (or family) banks are stored specifically for use by the individual person from whom such cells have been collected and the banking costs are paid by such person. The sample can later be retrieved only by that individual and for the use by such individual or, in many cases, by her or his first-degree blood relatives. In case of amniotic fluid stem cell banking, the mother providing the donation initially has ownership of the stem cells and financial responsibility for its storage. When the child from that pregnancy reaches legal age, the ownership and responsibility for the sample may be transferred. The first private amniotic stem cell bank in the US was opened by Biocell Center in October 2009 in Medford, Massachusetts.
The CCI said the super-specialty hospital's exclusive agreement with stem cell banking company Cryobanks International India limited consumer choice and had the potential to mould consumer preferences and distort the market mechanism completely in the long run . "Such agreements notonly affect the competition adversely but are also against the spirit of health services and affectfreetradebesidesbeing anti-consumer ," the CCI said in its order .
The action against Hiranandani is basedon a complaintfiledlast year by Ramakant Kini , a lawyer and family friend of Mumbai resident M Anu Jain,who was denied maternity services by the hospital during the 38 th week of her pregnancy becauseshe refused to avail the services of Cryobanks . Jain preferred the stem cell banking services of Cryobanks ' main rival , Lifecell International , as she did during the birth of her first child .
The CCI observed that "there is an onerous responsibility on hospitals to behave ethically towards patients". Thanks to its punitive action , the CCI may have established itself as a quasiwatchdog in the grossly under-regulated Indian healthcare sector. The penalty has set a precedent for patients to complain against abuse of monopoly and exploitation by hospitals and other healthcare service providers , according to experts .
"The order signals the CCI's deep concern against anti-competitive and anti-consumer practices in a vital sector such as health services ," said Vinod Dhall , former CCI chairman . Dhall heads Vinod Dhall-TT &A, a legal firm specialising in competition law that represented Kini . Companies like Lifecell and Cryobanks collect, process and store blood from umbilicalcord— rich in stem cells — in the moments after birth . Stem cells are used in medical treatments .
Article referred: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CCI-fines-Hiranandani-Hospital-Rs-5040907.S.5848028311690694658?view=&gid=5040907&type=member&item=5848028311690694658&trk=eml-anet_dig-b_nd-pst_ttle-cn
Comment:
An amniotic stem cell bank is a facility that stores stem cells derived from amniotic fluid for future use. Stem cell samples in private (or family) banks are stored specifically for use by the individual person from whom such cells have been collected and the banking costs are paid by such person. The sample can later be retrieved only by that individual and for the use by such individual or, in many cases, by her or his first-degree blood relatives. In case of amniotic fluid stem cell banking, the mother providing the donation initially has ownership of the stem cells and financial responsibility for its storage. When the child from that pregnancy reaches legal age, the ownership and responsibility for the sample may be transferred. The first private amniotic stem cell bank in the US was opened by Biocell Center in October 2009 in Medford, Massachusetts.
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