Health camps a tool for private hospitals to hike occupancy | India News – Times of India
The practice of private hospitals organising medical camps to get more inpatients has come into focus with death of four patients in Ahmedabad following angioplasty which was deemed unnecessary. Often labelled as charitable or CSR activity, in reality, camps are marketing activities for private hospitals, including large corporate hospitals that are constantly trying to push up occupancy, say industry insiders.Average occupancy in most hospital groups is about 60-70%. Footfalls in camps are closely monitored by marketing departments with calculations of what percentage of camp attendance gets converted to inpatients. There are quarterly plans for how many camps or outreach clinics have to be organised in which locations and of what specialties. These camps are not only organised within the...