India’s national standards body has introduced a uniform, voluntary format for hospital bills with the aim of improving clarity and consistency in healthcare billing across the country.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) said the new Indian Standard, IS 19493:2025, will apply to healthcare institutions including hospitals, nursing homes, diagnostic centres and outpatient clinics. The standard is intended to address concerns around inconsistent and unclear billing practices that have led to confusion and disputes among patients.
Under the standard, hospital bills will be required to provide an itemised break-up of charges. This includes room rent, doctors’ fees, medicines, diagnostics and procedures. Consultation charges are to be listed by doctor and date, while surgical charges must be broken down into components such as surgeon fees, anaesthesia charges and operation theatre costs. Diagnostic bills must specify individual tests, and medicine charges must indicate the quantity and price of each item.
The format also requires disclosure of package details, where applicable, along with the total bill amount, discounts or concessions, advance payments made, payment modes and receipt numbers.
According to BIS, the objective is to make hospital bills easier to understand and to establish a common benchmark for billing practices across healthcare providers. Hospitals that follow BIS standards are often viewed more favourably and may derive market benefits from adherence.
The move follows findings from a nationwide survey conducted in April 2024 by online community platform Local Circles, which showed that more than half of respondents had not received itemised hospital bills. Of around 12,000 respondents from over 300 districts, only 47 per cent reported receiving bills with a detailed break-up of services, facilities and consumables. About 10 per cent said their bills carried charges described only as “package charges”.
While the standard is voluntary at present, it may be made mandatory in the future. “The standards are voluntary for now, but over time, they are expected to become mandatory,” said Sachin Taparia, founder of Local Circles.
