Telemedicine gets good response in Himachal during pandemic
Amid lockdown, eSanjeevani OPD gets a thumbs up from residents in Kangra, Shimla, Hamirpur, Solan, Mandi and Chamba
In view of the Covid-19 lockdown, the telemedicine service being provided by the state health department is evoking a good response with people seeking medical advice via the virtual mode.
Himachal Pradesh has emerged among the top three states to provide teleconsultations of eSanjeevani OPD, Dr Nipun Jindal, the state director of the National Health Mission, said on Wednesday.
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These services assume significance given the spike in Covid-19 infections in the state and the restriction on movement to curb its spread. Himachal has seen 83,695 new Covid-19 infections in May so far.
Dr Jindal said 1,381 consultations were held through e-Sanjeevani OPD in May. Kangra performed the best in the state by conducting 384 consultations, followed by 230 in Shimla, 159 in Hamirpur, 156 in Solan and 152 in Mandi.
He said that the recently added AIIMS Bilaspur, e-Sanjeevani OPD service attended to 60 patients on their opening day on May 24.
Since its launch in April last year, Dr Jindal said, 80,062 consultations have been done. The highest 18,470 consultations have been done in Solan, followed by 14,888 in Mandi, 13,524 in Kangra, 7,805 in Chamba and 7,213 in Shimla.
He said 36,702 consultations have been done for non-specialist treatments, 16,001 for medical treatments, 7,914 for paediatrics, 7,586 for obstetrics and gynaecology and 4,907 for psychiatry. Medical officers at primary health centres have supported health and wellness centres for 23,811 consultations.
The services are being provided by specialist hubs at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla; Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda; and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College, Nerchowk. One more specialist hub will be set up at Dr Radhakrishnan Government Medical College, Hamirpur.