Hyderabad: The state government announced on Tuesday that it will soon launch an initiative to issue new Aarogyasri digital cards to beneficiaries. This move comes in response to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s directive to increase health insurance coverage from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for each individual under the Aarogyasri insurance scheme.
To achieve this goal, the government will implement an e-KYC initiative, which will digitally verify the identity and residential address of beneficiaries through Aadhaar verification. This measure is scheduled to be launched in the upcoming days.
During a review meeting on Aarogyasri, Health Minister T Harish Rao revealed plans to replace the current biometric system with a facial recognition system for beneficiary identification. The necessary software for this system will be developed in the following weeks.
The distribution of the Aarogyasri digital cards will be carried out through local public representatives as part of a large-scale initiative. Additionally, a team of senior doctors from NIMS will be appointed to conduct a medical audit of Aarogyasri healthcare services.
In another important decision, the government will initiate free Cochlear Implants (CI) surgery and rehabilitation for children with hearing impairment at MGM Warangal, which is affiliated with the State-run Kakatiya Medical College. Currently, Koti ENT Hospital is the only State-run facility providing free CI implants and rehabilitation therapy, including auditory and speech training, for such children.
Furthermore, the government will introduce software that allows NIMS doctors to remotely monitor patients receiving dialysis services in 105 government-run facilities.
To acknowledge the efforts of doctors during the Covid pandemic, the Minister has allocated a special funding of Rs. 1.30 crore to doctors at ENT Koti hospital, who performed approximately 866 black fungus surgeries.
