PGI, Chandigarh, to start online payments

Tribune News Service

Naina Mishra

Chandigarh, May 10

The PGI is working on a model wherein it will introduce online payments using the QR code for the purpose of registration and payment for diagnostic tests as part of the queue management project.

Till now, patients have to wait in long queues for physical payments, which leads to more waiting time in OPDs.

The issue of long waiting time has been highlighted in the National Family Health Survey (2019-2021) as well. In Chandigarh, around 34.6 per cent of households do not generally use a government health facility. Among the reasons cited by residents, 65.4 per cent felt that the waiting time was too long and 32.6 per cent felt that there was poor quality of care in government hospitals. The project was discussed during a visit of the Union Health Secretary to the PGI recently. Sharing details, Kumar Guarav Dhawan, Deputy Director, PGI, said, “We are going to introduce online payments at the PGI registration counter to minimise the waiting period. We have tied up with the SBI for payment through cards and will also provide the facility to make payment through the QR code. This will require patients to remain physically present in the queue, but will certainly save their precious time. In the future, we will make this facility contactless wherein patients will be able to make the payment through Internet banking itself and will not require patients to stand in a queue.”

Recently, as a part of its patient-friendly initiatives, the PGI had launched an SMS alert facility for laboratory tests. Once patients’ lab reports are ready, an intimation is sent on their registered mobile phone numbers via an SMS. The text message contains a hyperlink to download the report for swift access to test results.

PGI’s token system a non-starter

Under the Digital India campaign, the PGI had decided to set up a patient-friendly information system for outdoor patients in 2018. They were to be given a time slot and token, which were to be displayed on a screen. However, the token system under the queue management project has not been implemented in the entire hospital till date.

34.6% don’t use govt health facility

The issue of long waiting time has been highlighted in the National Family Health Survey (2019-2021) as well. In Chandigarh, around 34.6 per cent of households do not generally use a government health facility. Among the reasons cited by residents, 65.4 per cent felt that the waiting time was too long and 32.6 per cent felt that there was poor quality of care in government hospitals.

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