AIIMS-Delhi to start smart card for payments; no-cash payment from April 1. Details here

livemint.com:

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi on Wednesday said that it has started AIIMS-Delhi Smart Card on a pilot basis in some of the departments of the premier health institute and would be operationalised across departments for all sorts of payments by March 31, 2024 “Subsequently, no cash payment shall be accepted at any counters other than at the 'AIIMS Smart Card' top-up counters which shall be operationalised in multiple locations within the OPDs, Hospital and Centres and shall operate on 24/7 basis...", AIIMS Delhi said in a statement. “Other than electronic payments via UPI, debit cards, credit cards, etc, “AIIMS Smart Card" will be the only way to make payments for all investigations and procedures", the statement read.

All payments will be accepted at the payment endpoints installed nearest to the patient location and patients or their attendants shall not be asked to visit the central registration counters to make any payments, the statement added. The initiative aims to move all payments to digital mode and to improve patient convenience so that they don't have to stand in queues to make payments for various investigations and procedures or for getting snacks/food in the cafeteria etc, the order stated.

A recent news report has highlighted that at another similar institution, an outsourced service provider had tampered with the final discharge bills of patients and charged them more thereby causing them financial loss and mental agony, it stated. "This further highlights the importance of transitioning to 100 per cent integrated digital payment systems at AIIMS, Delhi, so as to ensure that no patient is fleeced and the Institute accounting is also auditable on end to end basis," the office order