CGHS block at NIMS on cards

To provide quick cashless medical facilities to CGHS patients
The Central Government Health Services (CGHS), Hyderabad is collaborating with Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) to offer exclusive services to CGHS beneficiaries at NIMS.

A special block with dedicated team of senior doctors to cater to CGHS insured persons here is on the cards.

Discussions to set up such a facility for CGHS beneficiaries at NIMS are already under way.

“In principle, the institute authorities have agreed to the proposal. Our aim is to provide quick cashless medical facilities to CGHS patients,” Additional Director, CGHS, Hyderabad, Dr. P. Parthasarathy said.

At present, CGHS beneficiaries spend nearly three days to avail specialised diagnostic facilities like CT and MRI scans at NIMS. Even for non-specialised medical facilities like outpatient services and simple diagnostic tests, pensioners are forced to spend the whole day.

In case of medical emergencies, these patients have to pay medical bills upfront at the institute and later claim through reimbursement from CGHS.

For diagnostic tests like CT and MRI scans, they have to submit a referral letter from the local CGHS dispensary, collect doctor’s prescription of NIMS and submit it back for approval. On an average, it takes three days for the CGHS beneficiary to complete this process.

“During emergencies, beneficiaries can directly get admitted to NIMS. But, they have to pay medical bills upfront and later apply for reimbursement. However, not all pensioners can handle medical bills this way. Exclusive services for CGHS at NIMS should be started quickly,” says general secretary, National Coordination Committee of Pensioners Association (NCCPA).

According to CGHS authorities, details on billing their patients are yet to be finalised.

“We are planning in such a way that patients need not pay anything up front. All the bills from NIMS will be directly sent to us. We have assured them that the bills will be cleared by us quickly,” Dr. Parthasarathy adds.

Additional Director, CGHS, Hyderabad, Dr. Parsthasarathy and NIMS Director, A. Dharma Rakshak have held meetings to hammer out the details for the project. “We are hoping that such services for CGHS patients will start by December if not later,” Dr. Parthasarathy said.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/cghs-block-at-nims-on-cards/article4015833.ece