Leading Private Hospitals can now perform the PCR Test which is a diagnostic test for COVID-19 under seven strict rules. The private hospitals which do not follow the rules will be banned from performing the test which is not a screening test for COVID-19, Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe said.
He said a Consultant Virologist should take the full responsibility for the PCR Tests conducted in any private hospital and the report of the Test should be issued within 24 hours. The maximum price that can be charged from a patient for the PCR Test is Rs. 6,000.
Dr. Jasinghe said the test should be performed only on patients who are admitted to the private hospital (in-house patients only) and on patients who fall within the interpretation (a possible COVID-19 patient) issued by the Government / Health Ministry.
The private hospital must send the information of the patient requested by the Epidemiology Unit before performing the test and the test result must be informed to the Epidemiology Unit no matter whether negative or positive. Any private hospital can pay Rs. 6,000 and get the test done at a Government laboratory on behalf of a patient when no facilities are available to perform the test at the relevant private hospital, he added.