Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has any proposal to roll out free Pathology/ Diagnostics Scheme and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi; and
(b) whether the Government has asked the State Governments to start providing a basket of essential services for free to patients visiting public healthcare facilities and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) & (b): Government of India has launched NHM Free Diagnostic Services Initiative, under which support is provided to States for providing free diagnostic services in Public Health Facilities. The guidelines on National Free diagnostics service initiative along with the model tender document have been developed and disseminated to the States. The guidelines are intended to assist States/UTs to roll out the initiative. The detailed guideline along with the model tender document is available on web-link mentioned below:-
http://nhsrcindia.org/sites/default/files
/practice_file/Free%20Diagnostics%
20Service%20Initiative.pdf
The guidelines provide illustrative list of investigations to be provided free at each level of the health facility as under: -
Public Health Facility No. of Investigations
Sub Centre 7
Public Health Centre 19
Community Health Centre 39
District Hospital 57
29 States/ UTs have implemented Free Diagnostics Initiative through NHM funding and State budget. Implementation strategy and number of investigations provided at facility level varies from State to State. The State/ UT wise details are as under:-
(i) 28 States are providing Laboratory services either in-house or through PPP mode:
Andhra Pradesh, A&N islands, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.
(ii) 25 States are providing CT scan services either in-house or through PPP mode:
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, A&N Islands.
(iii) Teleradiology (X-ray) (6 States):
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tripura, West Bengal.