The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) institutes across the country may revise their fee structure for medical education along the lines of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to increase the revenue-generating potential of the institute, according to the 'Chintan Shivir' (brainstorming session) aimed at improving the functioning of AIIMS. A PTI report stated that the aim was to improve the healthcare services at all the AIIMS and recognise a model that is suitable for sustainable revenue generation in order to reduce the dependence on government funds.
The Union Health Ministry of India is contributing to the process of finalising a committee that will analyse the practicality of the recommendations made by the Chintan Shivir and see the level of increase that can be done, said an official source to PTI. "One of the recommendations suggested is revising the fee structure of courses such as MBBS, post-graduation and nursing education and adopting the structure followed by the IITs and IIMs to augment the revenue-generating potential of the premier institute," said the official source. The fee for the MBBS course at AIIMS is currently Rs 6,500. While the cost of an MBA or PG degree at an IIM is Rs 24-25 lakh. The cost of BTech courses at the IITs is up to Rs 10-12 lakh and up to Rs 3 lakh for an MTech.
The PTI report stated that other recommendations highlighted are converting a third of general ward beds at all AIIMS into special wards and increasing the number of private wards, constituting a committee for revising the charges of AIIMS for non-paying and paying patients for improving revenue generation. Another recommendation by the Chintan Shivir also said that creating a mechanism for identification of beneficiaries of AB-PMJAY, state government scheme, CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme), ECHS (Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme), Railways and any other government-linked scheme towards contributing to the revenue.
The report stated that in the annual budget announced for the year 2022-23, there was an allocation of Rs 4,190 crore for AIIMS, Delhi. Besides AIIMS Delhi, six new AIIMS — Bihar (Patna), Chhattisgarh (Raipur), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal), Odisha (Bhubaneswar), Rajasthan (Jodhpur) and Uttarakhand (Rishikesh) — were approved in phase 1 of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) and are fully functional.
