National telemedicine service of India - eSanjeevani achieves 80 million (8 crore) teleconsultations

The free telemedicine programme provided by the Indian government, eSanjeevani, has reached an incredible new milestone by conducting 80 million (8 crore) teleconsultations. In a short period of almost 5 weeks, the last 10 million (1 crore) consultations were recorded, indicating a growing acceptance of telemedicine. eSanjeevani is a nationwide telemedicine service that aims to offer a substitute for traditional in-person consultations via a digital platform. It is an effort of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the area of e-health.

It comprises of two verticals that serve patients in all states and UTs, thereby establishing a presence in the innermost regions of the country. The first vertical eSanjeevaniAB-HWC aims to close the digital health gap between rural and urban areas by offering supported teleconsultations and ensuring that Ayushman Bharat Scheme participants may get the benefits to which they are entitled. The "Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centers" (HWCs), which are established at the state level and serve as spokes in this vertical's hub-and-spoke structure, are mapped with the hub (which consists of MBBS/Specialty/Super-Specialty physicians) at the zonal level. This model has been successfully implemented at 1,09,748 Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) and 14,188 Hubs with the goal of providing excellent healthcare to a patient dwelling in a rural region. This model has resulted in a total of 7,11,58,968 teleconsultations.

The latter vertical, eSanjeevaniOPD, serves both urban and rural residents. It makes use of technology to make medical consultations accessible from the patient's home, regardless of location, using cell phones, tablets, and computers. 2,22,026 specialists, physicians, and other healthcare professionals have been trained and onboarded in 1,144 online OPDs that have been acquired by eSanjeevaniOPD. Impressively, this platform has treated more than 4.34 lakh patients in a single day. The Mohali-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), which offers customers comprehensive technical training and assistance, is expanding the faculty in this sector to handle up to 1 million patients each day.

Leading ten states for the usage of this platform are Andhra Pradesh (28,242,880), West Bengal (10,005,725), Karnataka (9,446,699), Tamil Nadu (8,723,333), Maharashtra (4,070,430), Uttar Pradesh (3,763,092), Madhya Pradesh (3,283,607), Bihar (2,624,482), Telangana (2,452,529), Gujarat (1,673,888).

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