Bengaluru, Oct. 22 -- Hospitals across Karnataka will have to provide patients with more detailed information about medicine prices and treatment charges from November 1, following new directions issued by the Health Department to bring greater transparency to medical billing.

Under the proposed system, hospitals must mention both the purchase price of medicines and their maximum retail price (MRP) in the bills issued to patients. The move is intended to help patients understand how much hospitals pay for medicines and how much they charge when supplying them during treatment.

The department has also made it mandatory for hospitals to display their official treatment rate lists in prominent public areas. The list should be placed where ...