Dr. Vinay Tongaonkar, Dombivli

i had gone for a check up today. first of all the receptionist made me wait unnecessarily when the assistant doctor was free. after waiting for 10 mins when my husband went and enquired is when she realised that I have been made to wait by her.

after the check up when I asked how much is to be paid, she said Rs.200. I was shocked to get this reply. I asked why are you charging me this high for a mere checkup. the cost was Rs.100 a month back, why the sudden 100% hike, to which she initially had no answer, after repeated asking the reason she sd that they have hiked the fees. but I wanted to know the reason when she asked me to talk to the main doctor. I met Mr. Tongaonkar, and what he had to state as a reason completely bewildered me. the reason for this hike in the price was because the market rates for masks and scrubs have gone up. so i asked him is it ethical to recover the hike charges from the patients?

he sd they have no choice as they are risking their life. also they have stopped certain procedures due to some official instructions (which is fair enough). I do understand their plight but I just suggested the doctor that they need to at least inform the patient the hike in their charges, which he was reluctant to accept. plus he kept saying how can we communicate to patients, when they have a good number of staff employed under them.

every penny counts, he went on defending by saying that we have not hiked prices for all services. I sd to him but from my perspective you have hiked 100% for this checkup service.

i really don't understand the reason for this hike. and will they cut down the cost once things are back to normal? wait and watch ....