Health and Tech: Govt hospitals on a par with private ones in Telangana

These hospitals actively pursue and get involved in conducting high-end expensive surgeries for poor patients under Aarogyasri health insurance and Ayushman Bharat scheme

Hyderabad: For a long time, government tertiary hospitals in Telangana had confined themselves to extending basic primary healthcare, mother and child healthcare, surveillance and treatment of seasonal diseases and implementing state-run healthcare initiatives.

Barring a few sporadic complex procedures at Gandhi Hospital and OGH, almost all the high-end super-specialty surgeries have so far remained the domain of corporate hospitals.

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In the past two-years, however, the outlook towards specialty healthcare services are changing, as government hospitals in Telangana actively pursue and get involved in conducting high-end expensive surgeries for poor patients under Aarogyasri health insurance and Ayushman Bharat scheme.

While the gap between government and for-profit private hospitals, in terms of infrastructure, patient amenities, trained healthcare staff, has continued, the fact also remains that within a span of a year or so, government hospitals in Telangana have emerged as a safe alternative for poor patients, who earlier had to incur out-of-pocket medical expenses to get treatment in a private hospital.

Consistent efforts at providing support to senior faculty, upgrading medical infrastructure, introducing performance based incentive schemes to health care workers and strengthening primary health care services through Basthi Dawakhanas and Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) has now enabled government hospitals to compete with private health care institutions.

High-end surgeries:

At present, almost all teaching hospitals not only in Hyderabad but even in the districts are actively involved in conducting surgeries in orthopedics, cardiology, nephrology, liver, organ transplants and gastroenterology. Thanks to the recent initiative of State government to establish Cath lab in all teaching hospitals, cardiac procedures have become possible in government hospitals.

Aarogyasri health insurance and Aysuhman Bharat:

All the major surgeries that are carried out at government hospitals are now covered under Aarogyasri and Aysuhman Bharat insurance scheme.

In fact, for the first time, the Aarogysri patients in the last year or so have increased in government hospitals. Aarogysri health insurance also provides incentives to government doctors and other healthcare workers including nurses and paramedical staff.

Basthi Dawakhanas:

The modern Basthi Dawakhanas that provide primary healthcare facilities in urban centres and Palle Dawakahanas in rural areas have reduced the burden of outpatient inflow at tertiary teaching hospitals.

As a result, the senior faculty including experienced surgeons at teaching hospitals has enough time to focus on plan and conduct more complex ailments including surgeries.

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