Indian Railways Launches UMID Health Cards for Free Employee Treatment
The UMID card can be used for both emergency and general treatment at any hospital or diagnostic center listed in the railway panel.
Indian Railways has introduced Unique Medical Identification (UMID) cards for offering free health treatment to its employees.
This card will also cover the pensioners, and their dependents, enabling them to receive free treatment at hospitals listed on the railway panel, as well as at all AIIMS across the country.
The UMID card, which can be issued for a nominal fee of INR 100, is expected to benefit approximately 12.5 Lakh employees, over 15 Lakh pensioners, and about 10 Lakh dependents of the Railways.
The decision follows complaints from employees and pensioners about doctors issuing referrals for their preferred hospitals.
Under the new policy, treatment can be obtained, without the need for referrals, providing access to medical facilities and addressing previous grievances related to referral processes.
Additionally, referrals will no longer be required for treatment at national institutes such as PGIMER Chandigarh, JIPMER Puducherry, NIMHANS Bangalore, and the 25 AIIMS facilities across India.
In addition to treatment, necessary medications will also be provided at these institutes.
Pranav Kumar Malik, Executive Director (Transformation) of the Railway Board, issued a directive on Monday for the immediate rollout of the UMID cards.
This initiative aims to streamline medical identification for railway employees and pensioners by integrating the cards with the Health Management Information System (HMIS).
The UMID cards will be securely stored in DigiLocker, a government-approved digital storage platform that ensures the safe and accessible storage of important documents.
Besides being available in DigiLocker, the UMID card will also be directly linked to the individual profiles of employees and pensioners within the railway system.
The UMID card can be used for both emergency and general treatment at any hospital or diagnostic center listed in the railway panel.
Even if an employee or pensioner does not have a physical UMID card, the UMID number will be valid for treatment.
Moreover, in special cases, referrals will still be issued for certain hospitals, but these will be valid for a limited period of 30 days.
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