AMARAVATI: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the authorities to lay special focus on Aarogyasri network hospitals ensuring that proper health services are being provided and stressed on securing NABH accreditation for all the hospitals.

During a review meeting on YSR Aarogyasri scheme held here on Tuesday, the Chief Minister instructed the officials to monitor the services of Aarogyasri empaneled hospitals and emphasised on providing nutritious food, transportation to the patient from hospital to home after discharge along with Aarogya Asara in all Aarogyasri hospitals including the government hospitals. He asserted that all the treatments exceeding Rs 1000 should be brought under Aarogyasri and had to be implemented across the State.

Further, the Chief Minister ordered the authorities to include expensive medical procedures like bone marrow and liver transplantations into the scheme and provide treatment through the list of identified hospitals. He told the officials to set up a helpdesk (Arogya Mitra) in all network hospitals and monitor their services on a regular basis.

With regard to ANMs, the Chief Minister instructed the officials to train them on the list of medical procedures as they are the referral point to Aarogyasri at the village level. He said that ANMs should receive the patient and guide them to the doctor based on their ailments through telemedicine. The Chief Minister instructed the officials to be vigilant and strengthen the telemedicine call centre in the State. Doctors should be available round the clock for telemedicine services and have to attend whenever a patient or ANM calls and the call back should be done within five minutes of the call request.

The officials explained the implementation of Aarogyasri scheme in State and informed that so far, 1.35 Crore smart health cards have been issued and 716 medical procedures were available at 130 hospitals in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

Deputy Chief Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, Principal Secretary of Health Department Anil Kumar Singhal, Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Katamaneni Bhasker, Aarogyasri CEO Mallikarjun, and other officials were present in the meeting.