Sonography clinics: Centre imposes restriction on medics

In a bid to curb female foeticide, government has restricted medical practitioners from conducting ultrasonography test to a maximum of two imaging centres within a district and increased the fee for setting up a new clinic.

There was earlier no such restriction on medical practitioners conducting the utrasound tests so far, but government had restricted their practice within a district.

The restrictions have now come into force with the publication of a notification by the union health ministry amending the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of sex selection) Rules, 1996.

"Each medical practitioner qualified under the act to conduct ultrasonography in a genetic clinic/ultrasound clinic/imaging centre shall be permitted to be registered with a maximum of two such clinics/centres within a district. The consulting hours for such medical practitioner shall be clearly specified by each clinic/centre," the notification states.

In further amendment to the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of sex selection) Rules, 1996 under the PNDT Act, the application fee for a genetic counselling centre, genetic laboratory, genetic clinic, ultrasound imaging centre has been raised from Rs 3,000 to Rs 25,000.

The fee has been raised from Rs 4,000 to Rs 35,000 in cases where an institute, hospital, nursing home, or any place jointly provide the service of a genetic counselling centre, genetic laboratory and genetic clinic, ultrasound clinic or imaging centre.