Telemedicine platform assisting service delivery during pandemic

June 4, 2021 27 Views No Comment

Over 1200 live consultations completed, says Nagaland Health Minister

Kohima, June 4 (MExN): When the Naga TeleHealth platform was launched on September 9, 2020, the core aim was to use technology in overcoming challenges of tough terrains and hard-to-reach areas in Nagaland and to connect people to the right care at the right time.

It was aimed to ensure that people living even in the most remote corners of the State have access to healthcare services through teleconsultation.

Almost nine months later, the telemedicine platform is proving to be helpful in ensuring service delivery especially during the COVID-19 situation.

According to a press release issued by State Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom, the pandemic has brought about a widespread disruption of essential healthcare services due to the ongoing restrictions and lockdowns. Further, people are also hesitant to visit health facilities even for routine health check-ups due to the fear of contracting the infection, Phom observed.

In such a dire scenario, telemedicine has emerged as an innovative solution for service delivery to people in need. This platform will also be beneficial for triaging COVID-19 patients, ensuring service delivery to non-critical COVID cases as well as managing essential health care services at the primary level, which will reduce the burden at district hospitals and help to deliver healthcare services effectively and efficiently, the Minister stated.

Naga TeleHealth has been assisting in providing quality healthcare services at the Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) in the State. At present, the platform is reportedly being utilized in 202 HWC-SC across 12 districts of Nagaland.

How to avail services?
Ayushman Bharat HWCs are the first point of contact where Community Health Officers (CHOs) are posted. People who wish to access these services need to approach the CHOs who will collect the medical history of the patient and schedule a live consultation with Medical Officers or specialist doctors. Once the live consultation is completed with the doctor, the patient will get a prescription from the doctor based on his medical condition. The patient can then get all the required medicines from the CHO at the HWC using the prescription.

In addition, if the doctor suggests further investigations, CHOs who are trained to conduct basic laboratory tests will conduct the test or refer to higher facilities. In this way, any person living in rural areas and are unable to travel to meet the doctor, will get access to quality health care through this platform which is not only closer to their homes but is also free of cost, the Minister informed.

19 GDMO and 8 specialist doctors have been empanelled especially for this project. There is also a provision of referral and teleconsultation with specialist doctors with support from the Christian Institute of Health Sciences & Research (CIHSR) in Dimapur.

With the increased demand for teleconsultation, the Minister informed that plans are on to empanel more doctors in Naga-TeleHealth so that the community can make best use of the opportunity. According to the Minister’s update, more than 1200 live consultations have been completed so far.

The Minister expressed gratitude to USAID-NISHTHA/Jhpiego which has been working closely with the National Health Mission, Government of Nagaland in developing and rolling out the platform, which has proved “very crucial during this pandemic. “ He further encouraged the public to avail the services which are completely free of cost.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/telemedicine-platform-assisting-service-delivery-during-pandemic