How to Get Your Eyes Checked at Tilganga Eye Hospital, Kathmandu

This is how I check up my eyes in Nepal's top eye hospital, Tilganga Eye Hospital.

I am a short-sightedness or myopia patient since 11 years, starting from December 2015, and I have checked with multiple hospitals. As my hometown is in Butwal, at first I used to go to Butwal Lions Eye Hospital, but later I switched my default eye check-up destination to Bhairahawa eye check-up due to health insurance and other quality-related stuff.

After moving to Kathmandu after the Covid period, I was in a dilemma about where to get the check-up done with minimal charges and better quality. Previously I used to go to Tinkune Eye Hospital, but due to the poor service by the ophthalmologist, I decided to move to a better one.

On the journey to search for better and better, currently I am stuck with Tilganga Eye Hospital, situated at Gaushala, Kathmandu. Tilganga operates both public and private services for the public, and I am a member of the public service. Once you are a member of private, there is no going back to public as per their policy. Let's see how one can have their eye check-up here with ease.

In order to proceed with the check-up plan, you first have to book an appointment here by calling 01-5970048 and providing your personal details like name, age, phone number, address, etc. If you are taking an appointment for the second time, you simply have to tell them your MRD number, by which they will book the appointment for the coming day or your preferred day (Sunday–Friday) after the calling day. If you are planning to check with your health insurance, you have to tell them at the time of the appointment to book the ticket from the health insurance side.

On the next day (your appointment day), you simply go to the new building (most probably) to receive a token from the security guard dai. You have to say whether it's general or health insurance — if general, he will give you the room number 100 token, else 98 in case of health insurance. The token system opens from 7:30 am, while ticketing continues from 8 am.

After taking your ticket, you simply go to room 106 for the general eye check-up, and then the ophthalmologist over there will guide you through the other process as needed. The one thing that I loved the most is that your queue for the check-up starts from the time of your ticketing — meaning, to get your turn in room 106, you are queued from the ticketing time itself. The queuing process is automated.

The thing that I didn't like is that the ticket counter doesn't accept online payment, while the pharmacy inside the hospital does accept it. The normal ticket is 300 rupees, but if you are on health insurance, say SSF, it will cost you Rs. 30. In the meantime, if you don't have change, then you will have to walk to the shop near the hospital to get it changed, as they don't accept higher amounts, at least for insurance patients.

In conclusion, Tilganga has arranged to make the system organized, making the motto line ma hoina, online ma — which means not on the physical queue, it is online. But the practice of not accepting online payment at ticketing is making a negative impression on the general public.