This refers to the editorial, “Reasonable stent pricing” (February 18). The introduction of stent in treatment of coronary artery disease revolutionised cardiac treatment. Earlier, it was not only expensive but it also involved a long duration of hospitalisation for the cumbersome procedure of open heart bypass surgery which is now done in very rare cases where treatment is not possible through interventional angioplasty.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority's (NPPA) announcement slashing the prices of stents upto 85 per cent is a big relief for heart patients undergoing angioplasty. The earlier prices of bare metal and drug-eluting stents and the prices now fixed by the NPPA. The helpless heart patients were being indeed looted by stent manufacturers, distributors, and hospitals. With fewer Government hospitals in comparison to the vast population, and that too badly overcrowded, heart patients go for private, expensive treatment. It is necessary to fix a standard charge for the procedure of angioplasty as well.