Nellore: CT Scan, a money-minting machine for Corporate hospitals

Nellore: CT Scan is now a money-minting source for some corporate hospitals in the city. They were charging between Rs 3,500 and 5,500 per scan in case any person visits the hospital suspecting coronavirus infection or some other ailment.

In case, the patient visits multiple hospitals with the same ailment, every hospital is conducting rapid antigen test, CT scan and other blood tests mandatorily cashing in on the situation.

In fact, Computerized Tomography (CT) scan is a specialized X-ray test and it provides clear pictures of soft tissues of body which an ordinary X-ray cannot capture them. The CT scan is being used particularly for examining, who is having internal injuries or other causes of trauma. It can also detect bone and joint problems, condition of cancer, heart disease, locating a tumour, blood clot, excess fluid, any infection and liver masses helpful to the doctors observing any changes as part of diagnosis.

But there has been a debate on the use of CT scan in diagnosing the coronavirus infection in the body since the test focuses on a particular organ.

In the case of lung infection due to Covid-19, the scan is useful for identifying the presence of the virus and its impact, say medical professionals. Reverse Transcriptase- Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is said to be the gold standard and the molecular biology technique detects genetic material specific for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

But those people who are reluctant to visit a government facility are now approaching the corporate hospitals and paying huge amounts for the same ailment. Many hospitals are now charging huge amount even though the scan is not much useful for diagnosing the Covid exactly. Some people are getting confused about whether to believe the scan or to approach the RT-PCR test center for confirmation.

"It is because of delay by the government system that is providing the RT-PCR test result after three days even though officials are claiming that they are giving the result within 24 hours. Meanwhile, failing to manage the tension, people are approaching the corporate hospitals for an immediate result.

En cashing the situation, the private hospitals are minting money from the people and conducting various tests also," said a senior physician in the city. The Rapid Antigen tests result in rapid false-negatives and rapid false reassurance and the medical professionals are managing them coordinating with RT-PCR tests in case of any suspicions, he added.

A patient, who visited a corporate hospital in the city, says he had visited a couple of days ago suspecting COVID-19 where they charged around Rs 7,000 for CT Scan and other hematology tests.