Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to provide expensive high-end diagnostic services free of cost to the people irrespective of their income level, state Health and Family Welfare Minister Niranjan Pujari said Monday. The high-end pathological tests would be provided through outsourcing agencies selected through ‘GeM’ tender. The selected agencies would establish sample collection centres at district, sub-division, block, CHC & PHC levels, Pujari added.
The heads of government health facilities have been asked to display the list of diagnostic services at prominent places of their respective institutions for public information and awareness.
The Odisha government, Pujari said has expanded the range of free diagnostic services to 146 types. He added these services are assured under NIDAAN Scheme launched by Chief Minister Naveen Pattanaik January 1, 2018. The entire population in Odisha irrespective of their income level is entitled to get these free services in government hospitals and health sub-centres, Pujari added.
Health and Family Welfare department secretary Shalini Pandit said, “The list of essential diagnostic tests will be modified keeping in view state’s priority and diseases burden from time to time.” She clarified that henceforth the district headquarters hospitals would provide 146 types of tests, the sub-divisional hospitals would provide 121 types, the community health centres ( CHCs) would cater to 103 types, primary health centres ( PHCs) would facilitate 65 types and at the sub-centres 16 types diagnostic tests free of cost will be given to all patients.
Pujari assured that the quality of free diagnostic services would be ensured through appropriate external and internal quality control measures as per national quality assurance standards.
UNI
