Government hospitals need digital payment

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as India becomes one of the countries with the highest number of digital payments in the world, government hospitals in the state are turning their backs to it. Although it is very convenient for the patients, the government does not show interest.

The plight of government hospitals comes at a time when goods can be purchased even from street vendors by scanning a QR code. Thousands of people visiting hospitals including medical colleges every day have to keep cash in hand for everything including OP tickets. If there are services like Google Pay and Phone Pay available in hospitals, the queue to pay bills and buy tickets can be avoided. Debit cards are also not accepted.

Thiruvananthapuram Medical College receives more than 6000 patients from other districts daily. If the patient does not have cash in hand at the time of issuing an OP ticket, he will be facing a lot of difficulties. In a circular issued by the central government in 2018, it was suggested that all states should implement digital payments in hospitals and this was implemented in Tamil Nadu as well.

UPI in India

• Introduced in 2016. In 2021-22, more than 50 percent of payments were done through UPI.
• In 2023, 2348 payments will be made through UPI every two seconds.

UPI service should be introduced in hospitals immediately. It will save time for both patients and staff. Transparency in money transactions will also increase

Dr. GS Vijayakrishnan,

IMA District President

I broke my leg when I returned from abroad last month and got admitted to Kottayam Medical College. I had no cash in hand and Google Pay was not allowed either. I had to get money from another patient. What world is our government still in?

Anish,

A native of Kottayam