West Bengal to Implement AI & Geo-Tagging for Monitoring Swasthya Sathi Scheme

The new system will track real-time details of medical treatment provided to beneficiaries, such as the start and end times of services.

The West Bengal State Health Department has announced the adoption of geo-tagging and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to prevent irregularities in the government-funded Swasthya Sathi health scheme.

This initiative aims to ensure greater transparency and efficiency in monitoring healthcare services provided to patients in private hospitals under the scheme.

The new system will track real-time details of medical treatment provided to beneficiaries, such as the start and end times of services.

These details will be uploaded to a dedicated mobile application associated with the scheme. The AI technology will then verify this real-time data to ensure accuracy and authenticity.

This monitoring system will be applicable when private hospitals registered under the scheme request reimbursement from the state government for treating beneficiaries. Notably, patients themselves will not directly interact with this system.

To enhance accountability, the mobile app will operate within a 50-meter range of the private hospital, capturing admission times and treatment details. Importantly, these entries cannot be edited, preventing data manipulation.

The health department’s notification highlights that the scheme’s transaction management system will verify the uploaded details during fund disbursement to private hospitals. This step ensures that payments align with actual services rendered.

In another development, in September, the West Bengal government, under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced key appointments in the Health and Family Welfare Department.

Dr Kaustav Nayak has been appointed as the Director of the Institute of Health and Family Welfare, while Dr Swapan Soren will serve as the Director of Health Services (DHS) in charge.

Debashis Halder has been named Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for Public Health, and Suparna Dutta will take on the role of OSD for Medical Education at Swasthya Bhawan. These changes come amid escalating protests by RG Kar Medical College junior doctors.

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