High-end illness should be included in Aarogyasri

Hyderabad: Treatment of high-end diseases such as chronic kidney and liver diseases, neurosurgeries, complications of the brain and trauma should be included in the list of Aarogyasri services, where high-end care will save the life of patients, according to a study carried out by Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad and published in the Multidisciplinary Research journal on March 3.

The study also found that accessibility of Aarogyasri card holders to private hospitals must be improved and this can be achieved if the government pays out on time.

The issue of pending bills is hampering the scheme and driving away card holders who are not getting the right care in time. The study noted that there was ‘discrimination’ in payments made to private hospitals and this led to the maintenance burden.

A senior member of the Telangana Superspeciality Hospital Association explained, “A total of Rs 1,000 crore is pending as payments have not been released. This is the highest and the longest period, as till July 2019, it will be almost a year. All affiliated hospitals are suffering and for this reason the number of patients has reduced.”

The study found that reducing patients’ access to private hospitals will not work for the scheme as there is more confidence in private hospitals and so the government must work on this contentious issue of pending bills.

Awareness is also a major challenge in remote areas where the card is available, but accessibility to city hospitals is difficult, and for that reason patients continue to suffer rather than seek treatment.

From time to time awareness must be created about the existence of the scheme, observed the study, as ignorance is one of the reasons for not seeking treatment.

The study was conducted by K. Sandhya, assistant professor and P.V. Harsha Vardhan of the department of humanities and social sciences JNTU Hyderabad.