"It will be a watershed moment in the history of rural medicine in Bihar. People living in remote areas of the state, who don't have accessibility to health care, will be greatly benefitted," said health secretary-cum-executive director of SHSB Sanjay Kumar. The ambitious project would be rolled out in February next year. The Ayush department of Union health ministry has earmarked more than Rs 27 crores for it over three years.
The PHCs, where a primary check-up of the patient would be done will be connected with 38 district hospitals which, in turn, would be connected to a central unit in Patna. About 250 paramedical staff would be trained by Keonics that has partnered with KTwo Technology Solutions for the project. "At the PHCs diagnostic facilities for checking blood pressure, blood sugar, body temperature, ECG test and urine analysis, among others, would be available. This medical record would then be transferred electronically to the doctor concerned for consultation. Through videoconferencing at the PHC, even a patient could speak to the doctor, who, in turn, would prescribe medicines," said Dr Anant R Koppar, founder of KTwo Technology Solutions.
An array of hospitals has also been taken in the loop. Apart from private health providers like Fortis and Apollo, Patna's Mahavir Cancer Sansthan and Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences are in the tentative list of consultant hospitals. "The effort is on to establish the required technical facilities in government health hospitals too."
However, the patient would have to bear the cost of treatment. The tests at PHCs would be conducted at notional cost, with ECG costing a maximum of Rs 50. So far as consultation goes, if the doctor is a private consultant, the patient will have to bear the cost. The government is in talks with private health care providers to give rebate in fee, said Kumar. He added, "State Health Society is in talks with the government to reimburse the treatment cost to BPL families." While patients will not have to bear the cost of medicines available at the PHCs, for others they will have to do so.
Telemedicine will also help maintain e-records of patients' medical history. Not only will it help the doctor to trace patients' history easily, the collected database would also help in research of area-specific diseases, Kumar said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Banjot Kaur Bhatia
Quelle/Source: The Times of India, 28.11.2012
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