Now, CT-MRI scans in district hospitals only after state agency approval

Bengaluru: Now, CT-MRI scans in 20 district hospitals across the state shall be pre-authorised and approved just like other procedures under the PM Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka (PMJAY-ABArK).

From December 1, district hospitals included in this phase must apply for pre-authorisation on the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST) portal for each patient and go ahead with the scan only after obtaining approvals. SAST is the state government health agency for the implementation of the ABArK scheme in Karnataka.

This, a Health department source said, is being done to avoid unnecessary scans and streamline all such scans conducted in government health facilities across the state, after establishing genuineness of each case.

Emergency cases will obtain auto approvals, subject to necessary documentation indicating the need for emergency being made available during the time of claims’ requests.

Under the National Health Mission, 15 district hospitals got a CT machine and five district hospitals got MRI machines in a public-private partnership model since 2017.

These hospitals will be included in the first phase of operations.

This notice follows several doctors’ recommendations to improve the system, after it was found that patients who did not require these scans were being subjected to them or the same patient underwent scans multiple times, after unauthorised referrals.