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Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : India has crossed a landmark milestone in its eHealth journey. eSanjeevani telemedicine service of the Health Ministry crossed 1 million (10 lakh) tele-consultations on December 14, 2020.
Telemedicine entails delivery of health services from a distance using internet and it not only extends the reach of health services but also improves quality of health services besides saving time and money. The rollout of eSanjeevani in India is supposedly the first of its kind of digital transformation in the delivery of health services at national scale by a developing country. During the COVID-19 pandemic, eSanjeevani not only brought about a huge digital transformation in the delivery of health services but had also boosted the digital health ecosystem in the country.
eSanjeevani initiative of Health Ministry is serving in two streams in 28 States and Union Territories. The eSanjeevaniAB-HWC enables doctor to doctor teleconsultations and is being used at around 6,000 Health & Wellness Centres which are being served by specialists and doctors in around 240 hubs set up by States in District Hospitals or Medical Colleges etc. Over 20,000 paramedics, doctors and specialists have been trained to use eSanjeevaniAB-HWC.
The second stream eSanjeevaniOPD is providing remote health services to patients in the confines of their homes. eSanjeevaniOPD enables contactless, risk-free, and safe consultations between a doctor and a patient. It received a huge reception by both the patients and the doctors. Around 8,000 doctors have been trained and onboarded on eSanjeevaniOPD and on an average around 1,500 doctors practice telemedicine daily in around 225 onlineOPDs of which 190 are speciality OPDs and around 30 are general OPDs. Of late, daily eSanjeevani has been serving around 14,000 patients across the country, according to a PIB release.
eSanjeevani is being used by patients in over 550 districts of India. Over 10% of the users of eSanjeevani are aged 60 and above. Close to around one fourth of the total patients have used eSanjeevani more than once.