In a major initiative aimed at providing cashless health services to the student community, the Apollo Hospitals and the National Smart Card Consortium of Enterprises (NASCENT), a consortium of ECIL, SETS and SITAR, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), in Hyderabad, on Wednesday.

The MoU was signed by S Chandrasekhar, Director of Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL), and T Verghese George, Director of Apollo Telemedicine Networking Facility (ATNF), a non-profit outfit of the Apollo Group. The MoU was signed in the presence of Dr Pratap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals.

To begin with, the engineering students of Anna University and its affiliated colleges in Tamil Nadu can take advantage of the card at a nominal charge and can have cashless access to hospital services across Apollo Hospitals and other hospitals endorsed by Apollo in the region. The service will be extended to cover all engineering students through more than 45 Apollo Hospitals and other affiliated NASCENT-Apollo Health Card Hospitals across the country.

While Apollo Hospital will be the health service provider, NASCENT will provide the smart card solution, whereas ECIL will provide network and total project management and the insurance provider will cover the medical and service expenses that are being incurred by the students.

The card, apart from providing convenience of use, will play a vital role in case of emergency. The card has information on the identity, medical data, insurance policy data and any other related information pertaining to medical assistance to be provided, which will enable the hospital to take quick decisions and ensure timely treatment.