Health Ministry’s flagship telemedicine service - “eSanjeevani” records 3 Crore tele-consultations

The Union Health Ministry's eSanjeevani telemedicine programme has surpassed 3 crore (30 million) teleconsultations. In addition, eSanjeevani has set a new record by completing 1.7 lakh consultations in a single day. Andhra Pradesh is leading the country in terms of adoption of eSanjeevani.

In some states, the service is available every day of the week, and in a few others, it is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Over 100,000 doctors, specialists etc., have been onboarded to serve the people on the National Telemedicine Service. The National Telemedicine Service is operational with over 99.5% uptime.

During COVID-19, the telemedicine service made a significant contribution, reducing hospital workload and allowing patients to consult medical professionals digitally and remotely. This has aided in bridging the rural-urban gap by bringing high-quality health care to rural homes.

This service has two variants:

1.  eSanjeevani Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWC): Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres scheme of the Government of India provides a Doctor-to-Doctor telemedicine service to provide general and specialised health treatments in rural areas and isolated communities. The medicine is obtained using the e-prescription generated at the end of the session. eSanjeevaniHWC is currently in use in over 50,000 Health & Wellness Centers.

2.  eSanjeevaniOPD: This is a patient-to-doctor telemedicine service that allows people to receive outpatient care from the comfort of their own homes. It is accessible as a mobile app for Android and iOS devices, with over 3 million downloads. According to the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, eSanjeevaniOPD now allows the development of an Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), which will simplify access and shareability of health data with collaborating healthcare professionals and beneficiaries with the beneficiary's approval.

Witnessing the success of this service, the Ministry of Defence has rolled out SeHATOPD - Services eHealth Teleconsultation & Assistance - a telemedicine portal for defense personnel. Soon, SeHATOPD will be integrated with the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), allowing veterans and their families to take advantage of the benefits of teleconsultation. The National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) and Alliance India are developing an HIV/AIDS-specific national telemedicine platform (eHIVCare). In terms of technology, it will be similar to eSanjeevani, but it will be customised to meet the specific demands of HIV/AIDS patients in order to provide them with a better and more comfortable treatment experience.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.