Set up expert panel to probe issues faced by govt. medical colleges: IMA
In a statement here, the IMA said that it will resist any move by the Health department to persecute Haris Chirackal, the Head of Urology at Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram, who had gone public with his grievances about the inadequacies in his department, which was affecting patient care and health care service delivery
Any government action against Dr. Chirackal would be demoralising to hundreds of healthcare workers who are selflessly serving the people. The Health Minister herself had admitted earlier that she had no doubts about the sincerity of Dr.Chirackal in him revealing the deficiencies in his department and that it was systemic issues which were affecting the service delivery at Medical College, IMA pointed out.
The Health department's attempt to put a sincere and hardworking person like Dr. Chirackal in the dock instead of attending to the systemic issues in the department was a challenge to the thousands of poor depending on Government Medical Colleges for their medical care.
IMA is organising an open forum here on Tuesday to discuss the issues faced by the Government Medical Colleges and to gather the opinion of the public and health experts on the topic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
IMA urges public to get vaccinated
Kochi: In the wake of increase in communicable diseases in the state, the Cochin chapter of Indian Medical Association (IMA) has urged people of all age groups to get immunised against various diseases. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now They noted that despite vaccines being available in the state to prevent many communicable diseases, people are not taking them and ultimately fall victim to the infection. "Vaccines are available to prevent influenza, hepatitis A and other infections. In many diseases, death occurs when a patient's lung is infected with pneumonia. To prevent it, one can take pneumococcal vaccine. Many believe that vaccines against various diseases are only for children and not meant for adults. It is a misconception. Adults should also get immunised to prevent various diseases as their immunity decreases with age and when lifestyle diseases take a toll on their immunity," said IMA Kochi president Dr Jacob Abraham. "More people are developing lifestyle diseases like diabetes and heart ailments in the state, necessitating vaccination to ensure health conditions of patients with comorbidities do not worsen when they are infected with communicable diseases," said IMA Kochi research cell chairman Dr Rajeev Jayadevan. Currently, vaccines against hepatitis A, influenza, chickenpox and some other communicable diseases available in the state are not part of universal immunisation programme. Hence people have to pay out of their own pockets to get vaccinated.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
4 hours ago
- Business Standard
Haryana hospitals to continue AB-PMJAY strike despite partial payments
Officials from the Indian Medical Association's (IMA) Haryana unit on Wednesday said the body will proceed with suspending services under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) from today over pending reimbursements to hospitals empanelled under the scheme. This decision comes despite the state health agency (SHA) stating that partial repayment of outstanding dues to empanelled hospitals was initiated on a 'first in, first out' basis from August 4. In its July 28 notice, the hospital body alleged inaction by the state government over dues pending for six to seven months, despite repeated representations and assurances. 'Around Rs 500 crore in dues are pending to be paid to private hospitals empanelled under the scheme in Haryana,' Dhirendra Soni, honorary secretary of IMA Haryana, told Business Standard. IMA Haryana had issued a similar warning in January this year, which was withdrawn after the government released partial reimbursements. A statement from the SHA said it had processed and paid claims submitted by empanelled hospitals up to the first week of May 2025. 'A total of Rs 2,900 crore has been disbursed to hospitals since the inception of the scheme. During the financial year 2025–26, up to July 16, 2025, an amount of Rs 240.63 crore has been received from the state and central governments and fully utilised for settlement of eligible claims,' the statement added. Soni, however, said hospitals have a trust deficit with the SHA, which has not offered a concrete solution to the year-long problem. Calling delays in reimbursement a recurring issue, an administrator of a Gurugram-based hospital empanelled under PMJAY said the Haryana government had failed to find a permanent solution, leading to cash shortages in hospitals. The IMA has also urged the government to pay 1 per cent interest per week for any delay exceeding 15 days. 'This is part of the contract signed by hospitals while empanelling under the PM-JAY scheme, but no hospital has received such payment from the government despite the heavy pendency of claims,' Soni said. The AB-PMJAY scheme provides health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per family and currently enlists 1,341 hospitals in Haryana, of which around 650 are in the private sector. Hospitals empanelled under the scheme provide free treatment to registered patients and later raise reimbursement requests on an online portal. These are reviewed and cleared by a state agency before payments are disbursed. Another issue raised by hospitals is the introduction of the Chirayu scheme, a state health insurance programme running parallel to the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme. 'While hospitals have been enthusiastically participating in Ayushman Bharat since its launch in 2022, the launch of Chirayu cards in November 2022 has made payments very erratic due to the sheer number of beneficiaries,' the IMA Haryana said in an open letter to the state government.
Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Haryana: Ayushman Bharat payments released after IMA threat to halt services
After Haryana chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) threatened to halt services under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) from August 7 due to outstanding payments, Haryana's state health agency (SHA) on Tuesday said that the claims till first week of May have been released to the empanelled hospitals. The SHA said that the claims submitted by empanelled hospitals are processed by a team of 50 doctors through the NHA's online platform. In a statement the SHA said that it had received the budget from the state government on August 4 and that payment to empanelled hospitals has been initiated on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis. 'The SHA, Haryana has already processed and paid claims submitted by empanelled hospitals up to the first week of May 2025,' the statement says, adding that a total of ₹2,900 crore has been disbursed to hospitals since the inception of the scheme. 'During the financial year 2025-26, up to July 16, 2025, an amount of ₹240.63 crore has been received from the state and Central governments and fully utilised for settlement of eligible claims.' The SHA said that the claims submitted by empanelled hospitals are processed by a team of 50 doctors through the NHA's online platform. The portal ensures a transparent and impartial claim allocation process by randomly assigning cases to processors. The SHA has also taken cognizance of the grievances raised by hospitals regarding payment delays, claim rejections and non-processing of claims.
