NEW DELHI, Dec. 20 -- Obtaining informed consent, usage-based billing, and the public display of charges are among the Centre's latest guidelines to regulate the use of high-cost ventilators in private hospitals. Guidelines for Transparency in Ventilator Usage by Private Hospitals, posted on the Directorate General of Health Services website recently, and reviewed by Mint, aim to ensure that this life-saving treatment is used ethically and not as a tool for financial exploitation. "The government aims to restore trust in the private healthcare system and ensure that critical care does not remain a challenge or a source of financial distress," said an official close to the development, on the condition of anonymity. "Hospitals must justify v...