Over 2,200 patients use government's free healthcare portal
KATHMANDU, July 16: More than 2,200 people have received treatment through the government's free healthcare portal, launched to help low-income and disadvantaged patients.
According to the Ministry of Health and Food Hygiene, the number of hospitals connected to the portal has grown steadily, from 13 at its launch to 238. Ministry spokesperson Dr. Samir Kumar Adhikari said more hospitals are continuing to join the system.
Hospitals linked to the portal regularly update information on their total bed capacity and the 10 percent of beds reserved for free treatment.
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Patients from disadvantaged groups and their family members can use mobile phones or computers to check the availability of free beds at hospitals. The portal also provides information on blood availability.
The government introduced the information technology-based system to implement the constitutional right to free healthcare.
Under the Health Institution Operation Standards, 2020, hospitals are required to reserve 10 percent of their total beds for free treatment of poor, helpless and abandoned patients.
As of Monday afternoon, hospitals across the country had 28,704 beds, including 3,380 free beds reserved under the policy. Of these, 593 beds were occupied by patients receiving free treatment, while 2,787 remained vacant.
Dr. Adhikari said more than 1,760 people have benefited from free hospital beds since the portal came into operation.
Among major hospitals, the largest number of free beds is available at BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, where all 251 reserved beds are currently vacant. Bir Hospital has recorded the highest use of free beds.
Dr. Adhikari said public awareness about the free bed service remains low, which has limited its use. He expressed confidence that the number of users will increase as more people learn about the facility.
The ministry said it has approved the Free Treatment Portal Operation and Management Procedure, 2026, and published it on its website. It added that efforts are underway to further improve the portal and make free treatment services more accessible to eligible patients.
