PGI treated 1,75,676 AB-PMJAY beneficiaries since 2019, Punjab accounts for highest 46%

PGI Director Prof Vivek Lal said, “Ayushman Bharat is nothing short of a healthcare revolution in India, and PGI is proud to be at the forefront of translating this vision into reality.”

Highlighting the institute’s pivotal role in delivering complex, high-end treatments under AB-PMJAY, Prof Lal noted, “PGI records one of the highest volumes of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries in the country. A substantial proportion of renal transplants, spine surgeries, joint replacements and other complex procedures at the institute are now being performed under the scheme, with clinical outcomes comparable to those of leading global institutions.”

He stressed the indigenous and Ayushman-approved implants used at “PGI adhere to stringent international quality benchmarks. At PGI, government schemes are not just policies on paper, they are lived realities for patients”.

“PGI is not a hospital for simple cases. We receive referrals from across India, patients who have often exhausted all available options elsewhere. Our responsibility is to deliver the best possible care, irrespective of a patient’s ability to pay,” Prof Lal said.

The PGI director highlighted that some departments at the institute are now reporting 65 80 per cent of their major procedures being conducted under Ayushman Bharat. “A recently completed institutional study, among the first globally to analyse real-world outcomes, has demonstrated that patients treated under the scheme at PGIMER achieve outcomes comparable to international standards, despite zero out-of-pocket expenditure.”

Prof Lal further said, “Ayushman Bharat 2.0 has significantly strengthened PGI’s service delivery ecosystem through end-to-end digitisation, biometric verification at admission and seamless bedside delivery of medicines. The introduction of a robust online indenting and inventory management system has been a critical reform in enhancing transparency and accountability.”

“This digital oversight has been crucial in protecting patient interests, optimising public resources and ensuring that the full benefit of Ayushman Bharat reaches the intended beneficiaries without compromise,” he underlined.

“Pending payments to pharmacy outlets,” Prof Lal said, “once amounting to tens of crores of rupees, have now been reduced to less than Rs 2 crore, ensuring uninterrupted stocking, ethical practices and proper storage. Dedicated monitoring mechanisms and periodic reviews have further reinforced institutional accountability.”