October 18, 2021
1,55,000 Health and Wellness Centres have been onboarded and 85,02,926 consultations have been taken up so far.
eSanjeevani OPD platform has evolved into the app-based format to give patients access to remote healthcare facilities.
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat are the leading adopters of the e-Sanjeevani platform.
Development of the National Telemedicine Portal and Village Resource Center can elevate the scope of telemedicine.
The eSanjeevani telemedicine platform under the Ayushman Bharat initiative successfully facilitated 1.4 crore consultations as of October 18. The platform which was launched by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2009 operates through the eSanjeevaniOPD and eSanjeevani AB-HWC segments. The platform endeavours to close the accessibility gap in healthcare across the rural-urban spectrum through initiatives such as the eSanjeevaniOPD. The Hub-and-Spoke model followed by the platform has enabled the onboarding of 1,55,000 Health and Wellness Centres and 85,02,926 consultations till date. In terms of State-wise adoption, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat are the top five.
Telemedicine continues to evolve with the introduction of the National Telemedicine Portal as well as the National Medical College Network (NMCN) to improve the quality of medical education. The Village Resource Center (VRC) programme developed by the Indian Space Research Organization provides telemedical services in addition to a host of amenities including natural resource management, farmer advisory services and e-governance. Additionally, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has implemented the Electronic Health Records (EHR) standards to facilitate secure healthcare data maintenance and transmission. The National Rural AYUSH Telemedicine Network is yet another facility that the Government of India has introduced to increase the proliferation of traditional medicine among the rural population. With the support of ample digital infrastructure such as the above, telemedicine can be expected to continue its upward momentum.