To encourage people for corona testing and to check profiteering by private laboratories, the Punjab Government has capped Covid-19 tests rates for private labs. The laboratories are also instructed to display rates in a visible manner.
“The State Government, in exercise of the powers bestowed under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, (COVID-19 Regulations 2020), has directed that no private laboratory should charge any amount more than Rs 1,600 for RT-PCR test for COVID-19, inclusive of GST and Taxes, documentation and reporting,” said the state the Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Wednesday.
Sidhu said that for TrueNat Test for COVID-19, no private laboratory should charge any amount more than Rs 2,000 and Rs 2,400 fixed for CBNAAT test inclusive of GST and Taxes, documentation and reporting in the state of Punjab.
At the same time, he clarified that any additional cost for home collection of samples is to be fixed by an individual laboratory.
“But, the lab shall adhere to the guidelines issued by Punjab Government. All the testing protocols, as laid down by ICMR and the Government of India and the State Government from time to time, shall strictly be followed by the private laboratories,” said the Minister. He said that the private laboratories shall share the data pertaining to the results of tests for COVID-19 with the State Government and upload on ICMR portal on a timely basis.
“At the time of sampling, the identification, address and verified mobile number of the person, who is being tested, must be noted for record, as per sample referral form (SRF),” he added.
The Minister said that the data should be uploaded on RT-PCR app at the time of taking the sample. The test report should be communicated to the patient immediately after the testing is complete and all test results should be immediately communicated to the Civil Surgeon of the concerned district through e-mail with a copy to the State IDSP cell of Punjab, he added.
All the private NABL and ICMR approved laboratories are instructed that information of the patient should be maintained with utmost confidentiality. All the private COVID-19 testing laboratories must preserve the RT-PCR machine-generated data and graphs for future verification by the State Government.