In News: eSanjeevani, Health Ministry’s national telemedicine initiative today completed 9 lakh consultations.
- About e-Sanjeevani
- It is a national telemedicine service that offers tele-consultations enabling patient to doctor consultations from the confines of their home, as well as doctor to doctor consultations.
- The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched two variants of e-Sanjeevani namely –
- e-Sanjeevani AB-HWC which is meant for doctor – to – doctor tele consultations
- e-Sanjeevani OPD which is meant for patient – to – doctor tele consultation
- The former is being implemented under the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWCs) programme.
- The telemedicine platform is hosting over 40 online OPDs, more than half of these are speciality OPDs which include Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Dermatology, ENT, Ophthalmology, antiretroviral therapy (ART) for the AIDS/HIV patients, Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) etc.
- E-Sanjeevani OPD (out-patient department) is a telemedicine variant for the public to seek health services remotely; it was rolled out on 13th of April 2020 during the first lockdown in the country.
- It enables virtual meetings between the patients and doctors & specialists from geographically dispersed locations, through video conferencing that occurs in real-time.
- At the end of these remote consultations, eSanjeevani generates electronic prescriptions which can be used for sourcing medicines.
- Andhra Pradesh was the first state to roll out e-Sanjeevani AB-HWC services in November 2019.
- At present, e-Sanjeev ani OPD is hosting 27 general OPDs and 190 super speciality and specialty OPD. So far e-Sanjeevani OPD has been rolled out by 27 States and UTs.
Benefits of telemedicine
- Transportation: Patients can avoid spending gas money or wasting time in traffic with video consultations.
- No missing work: Today, individuals can schedule a consultation during a work break or even after work hours.
- Childcare/Eldercare Challenges: Those who struggle to find care options can use telemedicine solutions.
Ayushman Bharat:
- Launched as recommended by the National Health Policy 2017, to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
- This initiative has been designed on the lines to meet SDG and its underlining commitment, which is “leave no one behind”.
- Aim: to undertake path breaking interventions to holistically address health (covering prevention, promotion and ambulatory care), at primary, secondary and tertiary level.
- Includes the on-going centrally sponsored schemes – Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).
Ayushman Bharat adopts a continuum of care approach, comprising of two interrelated components, which are:
- Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs).
- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
Source: PIB & KURUKSHETRA
