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NEW DELHI: The national telemedicine service which is operational on two government platforms has completed over 1.5 lakh teleconsultations enabling patient-to-doctor consultations from the confines of their homes, as well as doctor-to-doctor deliberations, the Union health ministry said on Sunday. Of the total 1,58,000 teleconsultations offered across the country on the telemedicine service platforms of the health ministry so far, 67,000 were provided through 'eSanjeevani' at Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres and 91,000 patient-to-doctor consultations through 'eSanjeevaniOPD mode', it said.
The ministry said that presently, on an average around 5,000 consultations are provided daily through both the modes.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday presided over a review meeting with states and Union Territories over the 'eSanjeevani' and 'eSanjeevaniOPD' platforms.
In a short span of time since November 2019, teleconsultations by 'eSanjeevani' and 'eSanjeevaniOPD' have been implemented by 23 states covering 75 per cent of the population. Other states are in the process of rolling it out, the health ministry said.
The top 10 states which have registered highest consultations through 'eSanjeevani' and 'eSanjeevaniOPD' platforms are Tamil Nadu with 32,035 consultations, Andhra Pradesh 28,960, Himachal Pradesh 24,527, Uttar Pradesh 20,030, Kerala 15,988, Gujarat 7,127, Punjab 4,450, Rajasthan 3,548, Maharashtra 3,284 and Uttarakhand 2,596.
"In a landmark achievement, the national telemedicine service has completed more than 1,50,000 teleconsultations enabling patient-to-doctor consultations from the confines of their home, as well as doctor-to-doctor consultations," the ministry said.
Expressing appreciation for this accomplishment, Vardhan said, "With the cooperation of states and UTs, and a pool of selfless and talented medical practitioners and specialists, we have been able to provide healthcare services through telemedicine platform such as eSanjeevani. This has substantially augmented our health infrastructure during the Covid-19 pandemic."
Echoing similar sentiments, Minister of State for Health Ashwini K Choubey remarked that it will be a "gamechanger for people in the rural areas who do not have easy access to medical specialists located in cities".
The eSanjeevani platform has enabled two types of telemedicine services — doctor-to-doctor (eSanjeevani) and patient-to-doctor (eSanjeevani OPD) teleconsultations. The former is being implemented under the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre programme.
"It is planned to implement teleconsultation in all the 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres (as spokes) in a 'Hub and Spoke' model, by December 2022. States have identified and set up dedicated 'Hubs' in medical colleges and district hospitals to provide teleconsultation services to 'Spokes, i.e sub-health centres and primary health centres," the health ministry said in a statement.
As on date, 12,000 users comprising community health officers and doctors have been trained to make use of this national e-platform. Presently, telemedicine is being Read More – Source
