Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced an initiative on Friday for underprivileged people of the state to avail free medical tests in empanelled private laboratories, besides government hospitals.
"This landmark decision will benefit millions of people," an official statement said.
It said that the government has been made aware that many poor patients are unable to access diagnostic services in civil hospitals for various reasons.
To address this issue, the department concerned has directed all chief medical officers to make efficient use of the existing resources within their districts.
If necessary, local private laboratories and radiological centres should be empanelled to ensure that diagnostic services are readily available to all beneficiaries for free, the statement added.
The beneficiaries of the initiative will now be able to have tests conducted at these empanelled labs with a prescription from a government doctor or a chief medical officer and the costs for these tests will be covered by funds allocated by the government to civil hospitals, it said.