BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF) is set to be expanded to bring private hospitals under its fold. The process of evaluation of the private hospitals will soon go underway. Initially, four private hospitals in Bhubaneswar __ Kalinga Hospital, Aditya Care Hospital, L V Prasad Eye Hospital and Ahswini Hospital __ that have been empanelled under the State Government, are proposed to be included in OSTF. The Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) has assessed the feasibility of some of the private hospitals for referral of patients and the Government would be moved for obtaining its approval on the front. The process would be extended to the district level with the Collectors called upon to submit proposals on the private hospitals in their respective areas that they deem fit for providing better patient care, the Odisha State Treatment Fund Society (OSTFS), under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary B K Patnaik, has decided. The private hospitals would be governed by a new set of guidelines which would prescribe the parameters for treatment and charging of rates to disbursal of assistance to the beneficiaries. The costs of treatment would be subject to the norms of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) under which the State and Central Government employees are covered. “The objective is to ensure provisioning of better and immediate healthcare facilities to the poor people, irrespective of their admissions to the Government or private institutions. The Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) would also cease to exist from May 1 after being completely merged with OSTF and thus those admitted to private hospitals cannot avail assistance. A detailed set of guidelines would be formulated to ensure smooth operation of the scheme in the private hospitals”, DMET Prof P K Das said. The OSTF Society has also decided to move the Central Government to include the three Government Medical College and Hospitals under the Union Health Ministers’ Discretionary Fund to provide financial assistance to poor patients from outside the State. Presently, the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC) is getting about `20 lakh a year under the scheme. Since a substantial number of BPL patients from the neighbouring States of Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal come for treatment to the three MCHs, they should be able to avail the Central assistance. However, even after more than four months since its launch in the State, the OSTF continues to stutter with two districts of Boudh and Malkangiri still not been able to implement it. The Government has also taken note of the very low disbursal rates in several districts, including the SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack along with the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre. The wide gap between sanctioned cases and the disbursal in these two premier hospitals would be probed, the Governing Body of the OSTFS has decided.
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