Stent suppliers' “strike”

On April 14 we heartily congratulated the move to fix the maximum retail price of stents for heart patients in need of angioplasty and stents. We pointed out that these patients prefer to go to India for their treatment, since the price there is fixed, while in Bangladesh, public and private hospitals charge any amount they please. We also pointed out allegations of unscrupulous profit mark-ups and doctors' commissions, all of which make the price of healthcare a burden on the patient.

A report published yesterday shows that the bold move by the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) to fix the MRP of stents has led to a protest "strike" by the suppliers. Patients are now discovering that the stent implant surgeries they were booked for cannot be performed due to shortage of supplies. It is horrifying to learn that patients are having to go back home with incomplete surgeries. Suppliers have reportedly declined to even supply stents for emergency purposes.

This is morally loathsome. This strike is absurd and nothing short of taking hostage of innocent lives. Cardiologists have pointed out that now patients have to pay between Tk. 80,000 and Tk. 1.5 lakh for a single drug-eluting stent. The price for stents is fixed at Rs. 30,000 in India. The DGDA's move to fix the retail price bodes well for our healthcare system.

We have heard that the strike was caused by a "misunderstanding", which has now been clarified. We have been assured that the supply delivery has resumed. However, the issue here is, for whatever reason, the suppliers put lives of patients at risk. This cannot be justified. We strongly urge that the authorities take action against this unscrupulous business practices which would rather put lives at risks than forego profit.