The coronavirus is a respiratory illness that can cause severe symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath. It has been responsible for the deaths of over two dozen people in India since September 2018. The government has advised everyone to get tested for the virus but only if there are signs or symptoms present.
The cost of a Covid-19 test differs from one hospital to another. While the price of the test can range anywhere between Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,000 in India, it’s important to note that these prices depend on multiple factors. For example:
If you’re in Delhi, why not head to AIIMS? After all, it’s a government hospital and a tertiary care centre. But even though its website claims that it does blood tests for coronavirus (the AIIMS website also says that they don't charge for the test), when I called their toll-free helpline to make an appointment, the person who answered told me that they don't do this test—and this was after I had explained what I wanted and given him my contact information. When I asked why he'd said otherwise on his website, he told me “I don't know what you're talking about sir” before hanging up abruptly.
I tried another place with good reviews on Google Maps: Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi's Dwarka area—which cost around Rs 4,500 per test at first glance (though they offered discounts if we booked multiple tests). The doctor was friendly but took nearly three hours to do the test because of confusion over how much blood needed to be collected from each patient (they were using volumetric methods when standard tube tests should have been used). It was clear there was no urgency on their part despite people dying every day from coronavirus infection across India; perhaps because of this lackadaisical attitude towards performing such an important task as testing for this deadly virus...
The test has been priced differently in other cities as well. In Bengaluru, the test is priced at Rs 4,500. Similarly, in Chennai, it costs Rs 4,500 to get a swab test done for coronavirus.
It’s difficult to explain why there is a difference between the prices of the tests in different cities.
However, anyone who would like to get tested will have to be screened first by a doctor. This is because the coronavirus test is not available at all hospitals and clinics, pharmacies or diagnostic centres and pathology labs across India. The test can only be done in select government health facilities or private laboratories with stringent regulations.
The cost of a Covid-19 test differs from one hospital to another. The cost of the test at AIIMS is Rs 4,500, while the cost at other private hospitals can range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.
For example:
The coronavirus test is available only in government-designated labs. It is not available in private labs, nor is it available in private hospitals. The government has ordered that the coronavirus test be performed only at official laboratories until further notice. The reason for this is that there have been reports of multiple cases of false positive results from private labs, which could lead to unnecessary panic and cause hospitals to run out of critical supplies like IV fluids (which they've already done). In some cases, people have even been given false negative results when they were actually infected by the virus!
The coronavirus test costs Rs 4500 ($70) and takes one week or longer to get back results through post or courier service (there is no online option).
The lack of adequate health infrastructure in India leaves the country ill-equipped to deal with a coronavirus outbreak. The World Health Organization's guidelines state that a minimum of 2,000 hospital beds are needed per million people, but there are only 1,500 hospital beds per million Indians.
India's health infrastructure is also lacking in trained physicians and diagnostic equipment. There is only one doctor available for every 879 people—the lowest ratio in the world—and many rural areas have no access to medical care at all.
The country's poor health infrastructure also causes complications when it comes to quarantine procedures: if a patient is suspected of having SARS or MERS-CoV but cannot be properly isolated, this could easily lead to further spread of infection within communities already struggling with inadequate medical care and supplies like masks and gloves.
Here are the factors that drive up the cost of the test.
The coronavirus test costs more than other tests due to several factors. Firstly, the PPE that is used in laboratory testing is expensive and so are the reagents. Secondly, lab staff cost more than nurses and paramedics as they are trained in handling highly infectious samples. Thirdly, lab equipment is costly too as it has to be sterilized after each use. Fourthly, the setup of a government-run hospital lab requires special space which can only be found at hospitals or specialized centers; this means that they have to pay rent on it every month. Finally, because labs focus on specific diseases and not generic tests like X-rays or blood workups (which take just a couple of minutes), their work takes longer than other tests
So, what do you think about this? Do you think the cost of these tests should be lowered by the doctors or hospitals?