AIIMS Gorakhpur OPD Rule Change: Referral Required, No Direct Access To Super-Specialist Physicians
AIIMS Gorakhpur OPD Rule Change: A significant change has been made to the Outpatient Department (OPD) consultation procedure at AIIMS Gorakhpur. Direct registration slips for consultations with super-specialist physicians are no longer available to patients.
Direct access has been limited under the new “Referral-Only” system in order to prioritize essential situations and manage patient load.
The New Consultation Process
Patients must adhere to a tiered procedure in order to see a super-specialist:
initially Screening: Patients need to see a physician in the appropriate general department (e.g., General Medicine) initially.
Referral: A referral form for the particular super-specialist will be provided by the general practitioner if the ailment warrants it.
Registration: To create the final registration slip for the specialist, the patient or their family must show this referral slip at the OPD registration counter.
Exemption: Patients with referral slips from other government hospitals are not required to go through the screening procedure and may pick up their specialized registration slips right at the counter.
Departments Affected
The following super-specialty OPDs are subject to the restriction:
The digestive system
Surgery of the Gastrointestinal System
Neurology
Neurosurgery
Cardiology
Surgery of the Heart and Thorax
Painkillers
Justification for the Change
The management attributed this decision mostly on overcrowding. In the past, these departments would see around 200 patients per day for direct consultations.
Effect on Physicians: Medical professionals were compelled to see patients late at night.
Impact on Patients: Because there were so many non-critical cases, patients in need of critical care sometimes had to wait a long time or returned untreated.
Historical Background
The institution is implementing this system for the second time. The former Executive Director, Dr. Ajay Singh, lifted the limits that had been in place and increased OPD hours to improve patient access. To improve efficiency, the regulations have been reinstalled by the present government.
Execution and Public Input
Staff members are actively educating patients at the counters, and notices about the new practice have been posted around the hospital.
Regarding recommendations from private practitioners, the move has drawn criticism.
Patient Grievance: Deoria resident Sushil Singh said he had trouble getting his mother medical attention. He was refused a straight slip and sent to General Medicine first, even though a private physician in Deoria had advised him to visit a gastroenterologist.
Public desire: In order to avoid needless delays for important patients, there is a rising desire that referral slips from private hospitals be recognized as well.
Official Declaration
The Executive Director of AIIMS Gorakhpur, Major General (Retired) Dr. Vibha Dutta, justified the action, claiming that the system is intended to raise the standard of care.
“This system has been created for the excellent treatment of patients,” she said. Specialist physicians may provide even better care to patients who are referred to them. By doing this, the clinics of these physicians won’t be overcrowded. In this case, everyone should work together.