The Odisha government on Thursday instructed all hospitals empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat and Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana to provide free emergency medical care to road accident victims under the PM-RAHAT initiative.
Empanelled healthcare facilities were also directed to strictly adhere to the operational guidelines set by the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
The Prime Minister-Road Accident Victims’ Hospitalisation and Assured Treatment (PM-RAHAT) scheme was rolled out by the Central government earlier this year in February.
Under this welfare initiative, crash victims are entitled to cashless medical coverage of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for up to seven days from the time of the mishap, regardless of the road type where the accident occurred.
Additionally, empanelled hospitals have been ordered to establish 24×7 help desks to support and guide eligible beneficiaries.
Brundha D, Chief Executive Officer of the State Health Assurance Society (SHAS), issued the directives while assessing the implementation of the scheme across local private hospitals in Bhubaneswar.
Brundha instructed all empanelled hospitals to provide up to seven days of free emergency care to motor vehicle accident victims admitted within 24 hours of the incident, confirming that each patient will receive cashless care capped at Rs 1.5 lakh.
The hospitals were further instructed to render free treatment to Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) cardholders in alignment with standard protocols.
Brundha emphasized that empanelled hospitals must link their Hospital Management Information System (HMIS), ABHA-linked health records, facility registries, and health professional databases with the ABDM platform by the end of August.
Failure to comply with the directive will result in the suspension of performance incentive payouts under the Ayushman Bharat program.
She further warned that persistent failure to align with the framework could trigger the de-empanelment of non-compliant hospitals.
According to the scheme guidelines, every empanelled hospital must set up an Ayushman Bharat help desk at a prominent location near the main entrance and appoint Pradhan Mantri Arogya Mitras (PMAMs) to manage it round the clock.
Following full ABDM implementation, patients will no longer need to carry physical paper records or previous diagnostic reports when seeking treatment.
In scenarios where a patient is transferred between hospitals, their complete diagnostic reports, medical history, and treatment logs can be transferred instantly and securely, officials said.
