Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 27 Feb: Under the State Government Health Scheme in Uttarakhand, it will now be mandatory for all the empanelled hospitals to obtain a duly filled feedback form from beneficiary patients at the time of discharge. The form will clearly record details including the expenditure incurred on treatment and other relevant information. This arrangement has been made compulsory for all hospitals linked with the scheme.
Chairman of the State Health Authority, Arvind Singh Hyanki, shared with the media today that under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana, feedback forms are already obtained from patients at the time of discharge. These forms contain complete details regarding the duration of treatment and the patient’s feedback. The hospitals concerned will now be required to mandatorily submit the form along with their bills.
The State Health Authority has now extended this provision to cases under the State Government Health Scheme, commonly known as the Golden Card scheme. Hyanki observed that many beneficiaries under the scheme are not fully aware of the procedures carried out during their treatment, the tests conducted or the total expenditure incurred. The feedback form will include comprehensive details such as confirmation that the hospital has provided cashless treatment without charging any money, the quality and process of treatment, medicines administered, investigations conducted and the total cost of treatment. It will also record whether the patient has been shown or provided all relevant details.
Hospitals will now be required to submit the beneficiary’s signed feedback form along with their medical claims. In the event that the feedback form is not attached with the claim, payment to the hospital will not be made. During a review meeting of Authority officials, the Chairman had directed that claims should be considered only upon verification of the mandatory feedback form and that treated beneficiaries should be contacted on a random basis by telephone to confirm the details mentioned in the feedback form.
It may be recalled that more than five lakh beneficiaries are covered under the State Government Health Scheme in the State. The scheme provides cashless treatment facilities in empanelled hospitals to government and autonomous body employees and pensioners on the basis of a contributory system. At present, approximately 5.16 lakh SGHS card holders are enrolled under the scheme. As many as 1.73 lakh patients have availed themselves of the cashless hospitalisation benefit since the inception of the scheme. An amount exceeding Rs 641 crores has been expended so far on this unlimited cashless treatment facility. In addition, expenditure amounting to Rs 300 crores has been incurred against 1.83 lakh outpatient department claims.
