Hospital administrators asked to facilitate digital payments in hospitals

Srinagar, Dec 15: To enhance healthcare experience for patients in hospitals across Jammu and Kashmir, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has directed hospital administrators to implement QR code facilities for seamless digital payments.

A formal communication has been issued to Medical Superintendents, Associated Hospitals, GMCs, Dental Colleges, as well as Medical Superintendents of District Hospitals, Sub-District Hospitals, and Block Medical Officers advising them to adopt these digital payment solutions.

Despite the availability of interventions to simplify the payment process, officials have observed that people still opt for cash transactions in hospitals.

The ABDM, aligned with the Digital India platform, aims to make all payments digital within citizen-centric services provided by the government.

Dr Shafqat Khan, Additional Mission Director, ABDM, Jammu and Kashmir, emphasized the need for hospitals to facilitate this transition.

“In this context, it is advised to create digital payment facilities for patients in all hospitals/healthcare institutions by providing QR codes of the respective banks for making UPI payments, along with provisions for Debit Card/Credit Card payments through Point of Sale (PoS) machines,” the communication issued in this regard reads.

Officials believe that these measures will reduce the waiting time for payment processes.

Bhupinder Kumar, Secretary, Health & Medical Education (H&ME) Department, stated, “We have already taken steps to decrease wait times in OPDs, particularly through initiation of Scan and Share Queue Management system. Ensuring hospitals facilitate digital payments is aimed at providing people with a seamless experience.”

Dr Shafqat Khan remarked, “After successful implementation of a queue-less OPD ticketing facility, the next step is introduction of digital payment gateways for the convenience of patients and their attendants.”

He also mentioned that steps are being taken for software upgrading, which will enable patients to book consultations with doctors remotely.