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The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, has rolled out a nationwide Centralised Online Patient Feedback System across all its hospitals and dispensaries, aimed at improving healthcare quality, transparency, and institutional accountability.

About ESIC

• Established in 1948 under the ESI Act, ESIC is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• It provides comprehensive social security and healthcare coverage to workers in the organised sector and their dependents. Its healthcare network spans hospitals, dispensaries, and outpatient facilities across India, serving crores of insured persons (IPs) and their families.

About the System

• The new platform is an omnichannel digital public grievance and quality-assurance tool that enables ESIC beneficiaries to instantly rate their healthcare experience.
• It helps hospital administration track service benchmarks and address operational deficiencies in real time.
• It empowers insured persons to share healthcare experiences, raise specific concerns, and provide actionable suggestions for institutional improvement across three core parameters: cleanliness of facilities, behaviour of medical staff, and availability of prescribed medicines.

How it Works

The system operates through three feedback channels. First, automated SMS links are sent directly to the insured person's registered mobile number immediately after they avail services through the ESIC Health Information System (Dhanwantri Module). Second, on-site QR codes are displayed on customised multilingual posters at all OPDs and hospital locations, which patients can scan with their mobile devices. Third, feedback can be submitted directly through the official ESIC website.

To ensure data authenticity and prevent duplicate or fraudulent entries, patients enter their IP Number, which triggers an OTP verification process before feedback submission — a process that can be completed within seconds.

Key Features

The system incorporates role-based digital dashboards operating at three administrative tiers: headquarters level, regional offices level, and local ESI health facilities level. This enables continuous, real-time performance monitoring across the entire ESIC network. The platform features full multilingual support to eliminate language barriers and encourage participation among India's diverse working-class beneficiary pool.

A critical automated escalation mechanism ensures that any service rating falling below 3 out of 5 is automatically flagged and routed to local administrative dashboards for immediate corrective action. Additionally, the platform supports performance ranking of all ESIC healthcare facilities, fostering healthy institutional competition and continuous improvement.

Significance

This initiative represents a significant shift from passive grievance redressal to proactive, data-driven quality management in public sector healthcare delivery. By converting patient feedback into instant digital alerts, the system enables swift gap identification and correction. The continuous generation of patient satisfaction data will help rank ESI hospitals, promoting accountability and service improvement. The multilingual, mobile-first design ensures inclusivity for a widely dispersed, multi-lingual workforce.

The launch aligns with the broader Digital India initiative and the government's push to leverage technology for improving public service delivery — particularly for the organised sector workforce that forms the backbone of India's industrial economy.