Hospitals could be charging 2,841% higher on commonly used consumables

NEW DELHI: An IV infusion set priced in the wholesale market for Rs 11 carries an MRP of Rs 325, while a disposable syringe available for under Rs 7 has a price tag of around Rs 60, putting a spotlight on one of the least visible components of hospital bills: the price of widely used consumables during treatment. The gap becomes even more stark for high-value devices such as pacemakers, heart valves and intraocular lenses, where the final MRP may be 10-30 fold higher than the import landed price.Such huge mark-ups ultimately inflate the patient's hospital bill and may add significantly to the out-of-pocket treatment cost.The issue has been flagged multiple times over last 15 years but a fresh push by Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revived a question that has remained unresolved for years: who ultimately sets price of a medical device - the manufacturer, the hospital…