16-Dec-2022: Measures taken to reduce TB cases in India
The incidence of TB in India has reduced by 18% from 256/lakh population in 2015 to 210/lakh population in 2021. At the same time, the estimates of Drug Resistant TB in India have reduced by 20% from 1.49 lakh in 2015 to 1.19 lakh in 2021.
The following measures have been taken by the Government to reduce the number of TB and MDR-TB cases in the country:
- The Government of India has developed a National Strategic Plan (2017-25) for Ending TB in the country by 2025.The key focus areas are:
- Early diagnosis of all the TB patients, prompt treatment with quality assured drugs and treatment regimens along with suitable patient support systems to promote adherence.
- Engaging with the patients seeking care in the private sector.
- Prevention strategies including active case finding and contact tracing in high risk / vulnerable population
- Airborne infection control.
- Multi-sectoral response for addressing social determinants.
- Availability of molecular diagnostics has been scaled up to 4761 machines covering all districts in the country. In addition, 79 Line Probe Assay labs and 96 liquid culture testing laboratories have been established in the country for diagnosis of MDR-TB and XDR-TB.
- Universal Drug Susceptibility Testing (UDST) is implemented under the NTEP to ensure every diagnosed TB patient is tested to rule out drug resistance before or at the time of treatment initiation itself.
- Newer drugs like Bedaquiline and Delamanid have also been made available for management of DRTB.
- Decentralized DR TB treatment services are offered through 162 Nodal DR-TB Centres and 614 District DR TB centres across the country.
- Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (PMTBMBA):
- Launched by the Ministry on 9th September 2022 for community support to TB patients with the objective to provide people with TB with additional nutritional, diagnostic and vocational support.
- Nikshay 2.0 portal has been developed and made available in public domain for facilitating the community to register as Nikshay Mitra
- Guidance documents have been developed and shared with all State/UTs to implement the initiative.
- Periodic reviews are done to monitor the progress of the initiative at National and State/UT levels.
26-Nov-2022: Padma Shri, Khel Ratna Arjuna Awardee Dr. (h.c) Deepa Malik becomes Ni-Kshay Mitra and national ambassador for TB Mukt Bharat Campaign
Padma Shri, Khel Ratna Arjuna Awardee, India’s First Woman Paralympic Medalist and President of the Paralympic Committee of India, Dr. (h.c) Deepa Malik has pledged her support to the TB Mukt Bharat campaign by becoming its national ambassador and a Ni-Kshay Mitra.
Dr. (h.c) Deepa Malik expressed her commitment to the TB Mukt Bharat campaign, launched by Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in March 2018, when she participated in TB awareness activities at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Pavilion at the 41st India International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
She further extended her support to the campaign by becoming a Ni-Kshay Mitra, an initiative launched by the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu which strives to provide aid to TB afflicted patients on three levels of nutritional, additional diagnostic, and vocational support. She has adopted 5 TB patients herself as a Ni-Kshay Mitra and encouraged people to enroll in this scheme as well, highlighting that if everyone participates in their capacity by disbanding stigma, spreading awareness and providing aid, India will conquer TB very soon.
Speaking about her support for the TB Mukt Bharat campaign Dr. (h.c) Deepa Malik said: “I am delighted to join the TB Mukt Bharat Jan Andolan as a national ambassador and look forward to working with teams to amplify further much-needed awareness of this debilitating disease, which can be easily prevented and cured, to ensure India reaches its target to be TB Free by 2025!
She recounted her story of becoming a TB survivor, she emphasized that while the treatment is physical, the first step of recovery commences with mental well-being, focusing on maintaining a positive mindset and rising above the stigma surrounding this condition. She stressed that though journey to complete recovery may take time, it is crucial to perceive health holistically, extending beyond the physical aspect to include mental well-being as well. She highlighted that “health is the ultimate wealth”, urging participation in the Jan Andolan movement, contributing in building momentum to ensure India becomes free of TB by 2025.
“I firmly believe that no one should ever be left behind in fulfilling their potential because of their age, race, gender, or ability. This includes anyone suffering from a disease such as TB. They should never feel alone, and it is our duty as citizens to do whatever we can to support them. We must reach out to them as a Mitra and remind them they are supported, which is why I fully support the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative as a Ni-kshay Mitra myself”.
9-Sep-2022: President of India launches Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan
The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu virtually launched the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan today (September 9, 2022).
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that it is the duty of all citizens to give high priority to 'Pradhan Mantri TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan' and to make this campaign a mass movement. It is because TB causes the largest number of deaths among all other infectious diseases in our country. She noted that India has a little less than 20 percent of the world's population, but has more than 25 percent of the total TB patients of the world. This is a matter of concern. She also noted that most of the people affected by TB come from the poor section of society.
The President said that the thinking and methodology of ‘New India’ is to make India a leading nation of the world. India has set an example to the world in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy of ‘New India’ to move forward with confidence is also visible in the field of TB eradication. According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, all nations have set the goal of eradicating TB by the year 2030. But the Government of India has set the target of eradicating TB by the year 2025 and efforts are being made at every level to fulfill this resolution.
The President said that to make this campaign a mass movement, awareness about TB has to be created among the people. They have to be informed that prevention of this disease is possible. Its treatment is effective and accessible and the government provides a free of cost facility for prevention and treatment of this disease. She said that in some patients or communities, there is an inferiority complex associated with this disease, and they view the disease as a stigma. This illusion also has to be eradicated. Everyone should be aware that TB germs are often present in everyone's body. When the immunity of a person, due to some reason, decreases, then this disease expresses in the person. With treatment, one can definitely get rid of this disease. All these things should reach the people. Then the people affected by TB will be able to take advantage of the treatment facilities.
The Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has been envisioned to bring together all community stakeholders to support those on TB treatment and accelerate the country’s progress towards TB elimination.
The virtual event was attended by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Governors and Lt. Governors of states and UTs, representatives from State and District Health Administration and other stakeholders.
13-Apr-2021: Dr Harsh Vardhan addresses Tuberculosis Technical Consultants Network
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare addressed the Tuberculosis Technical Consultants Network Teams comprised of WHO-National Professional Officers for TB and consultants from across the country through Video Conference, here today. He was joined by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO-SEARO, Dr Roderico Ofrin, WHO Representative to India.
At the outset, Dr Harsh Vardhan congratulated WHO for their continued support to India in its journey to eliminate TB by 2025. He thanked the organization for helping ICMR and the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine in the recently conducted Sub-National Disease Certification. “We have now declared one UT, Lakshadweep and one District, Badgam in Jammu and Kashmir as TB free”, he stated.
Dr Harsh Vardhan also detailed how WHO has always been a constant source of transformative change in all health matters “Right from technical support, research, policy, monitoring and evaluation, capacity building to public health communication and knowledge dissemination, WHO have always been there to support us; be it in drawing up the National Health Policy, or in initiatives like Ayushman Bharat, strengthening primary care through Health & Wellness Centres or promotion of digital health.” In this context, he reminisced the fruitful collaboration he had with WHO as Delhi’s Health Minister and the exceptional role played by WHO in wiping out Polio myelitis from India which used to have 60% of the global case burden before 2009. India is polio free since 2011. He also further elaborated the support provided by WHO in the COVID crisis.
Highlighting the significant role the Consultant Network played under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) which has helped in reducing the gap of missing cases, and in achieving successful treatment outcomes, he said, “It is an encouraging sign and reflects that we are now able to provide better access for TB patients through our health sector (both public and private) and also reach out to communities through our Active Case Finding (ACF) drives, and provision of free treatment to TB patients. As proper diagnosis and prompt treatment are key to TB elimination, the consultant network must now focus on both detecting cases early and preventing the emergence of new cases.”
Dr Harsh Vardhan stressed on the need to create a scalable and replicable model at the earliest at the grassroots. He said, “The Success of the TB Jan Andolan solely depends on activities reaching grassroots populations. Action has to pivot around States and most importantly, in hard-to-reach areas. No two States are the same and we need to customize activities as per geography to accomplish a multiplier effect and bring in perceptible and measurable change.” He also noted that the time is ripe to build upon the work that WHO has been supporting for the last 70 years and expand the collaboration beyond medical interventions to include other Ministries, Gram Panchayats, and elected representatives.
He concluded his speech emphasizing that eliminating TB from India is not only important for this country, but has much deeper ramifications for the whole world and will considerably motivate smaller countries to this end.
He also expressed his unreserved thanks to every individual of the network working in different capacities on the ground at the level of villages, district and States, in hospitals and in research and implementation of policy for helping India fight TB and requested their full attention towards making the TB Jan-Andolan a success.
Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh observed that India’s political commitment to end TB is reflected in the more than fourfold budget allocation for TB in the period 2016-2018 (from 105 million USD to 458 million USD). She also pointed out that this allocation ensured that the WHO Tuberculosis Consultants Network was not dependent on any other donor source for sustenance.
26-Mar-2021: Dr Harsh Vardhan launches Tribal TB Initiative in pursuit of ‘TB Mukt Bharat’
In fulfilment of the cherished goal of a “TB Mukt Bharat” envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare today launched the “Tribal TB Initiative” along with Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs in the presence of Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare. A Guidance Note on Joint Action Plan for Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination, a Special Edition of Tribal Ministry’s Publication ‘ALEKH’ on TB, and a document on Tribal Tuberculosis (TB) Initiative was also released at the event.
The Union Health Minister noted the topical need to organize the event. He highlighted that India witnessed over 18.04 lakh TB notifications, notwithstanding the difficulties presented because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its related regulation/preventive strategies. “In spite of all the unforeseen challenges of COVID 19, the Government of India was able to convert all those into opportunities for TB Elimination by introducing bidirectional screening for COVID-19 and TB, strengthening diagnostic networks and combining TB screening in COVID surveillance activities’ he pointed out. Health being a holistic subject influenced by all aspects of life, the necessity to have a multisectoral collaboration with various Ministries and Departments to reach out to the most vulnerable population categories was underscored to achieve the elimination target by 2025.
De Harsh Vardhan reiterated that the UT of Lakshadweep and district of Badgam in Jammu & Kashmir have been declared TB Free on World TB Day this year while several other States and Districts across the country have been awarded for their progress made towards achieving the SDGs related to TB. He added that, “This Government accords top priority to ensuring Universal Access to free treatment and care for TB across the country. In India, we have over 10 Cr tribal population living with a huge diversity in their population dynamics. Through constant efforts, our government is able to see developments in their health indicators and overall wellbeing. The government has already increased the Budget allocation for TB in India a four-fold in the last 5 years. High quality drugs, diagnostics, digital initiatives, innovative private sector interventions and community engagement intervention, are all aligned to rapidly decline TB incidence and mortality in the country.”
The Ministers were apprised that over 104 million tribal population lives in India, across 705 tribes, accounting for 8.6 % of the country’s population. 177 tribal districts were identified as high priority districts where physical remoteness, malnutrition, poor living conditions and lack of awareness contribute to the vulnerability of the tribal population to TB. Initially, the activities of the joint plan will be focusing on 161 districts across 18 identified States. They would involve deploying improved vulnerability mapping techniques, organization of sensitization and capacity building workshops for volunteers, periodic TB active case finding drives, provision of TB Preventive Therapy (IPT) to identified vulnerable population and develop long term mechanisms for vulnerability reduction.
The Union Health Minister mentioned that the linking of NIKSHAY Portal of MoHFW and Swasthya Portal of the M/o Tribal Affairs will help boost data compilation on TB and pave way for efficient and convergent actions. He said, “India will be the textbook guidance to the world in TB elimination, if we could achieve this by 2025, even before the global SDG target of 2030.”
Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs congratulated both the Ministries on the formulation of the joint plan and observed, “The health problems of the tribal communities need customised solutions. It is heartening to see the joint initiatives of both the Ministries to eliminate TB among the tribal communities of India. I hope that in the coming days, we are able to identify similar diseases which are widespread among the tribal communities, and devise mechanisms to curb their spread.”
Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey spoke on the all-round initiatives undertaken by the government to ensure Health for all and thanked partner organizations like USAID, BMGF and Piramal Foundation for helping TB Care reach the last person in the remotest parts of the country.
7-Dec-2022: Workshops organized in 9 districts having Tribal population for creating awareness towards benefits of Fortified Rice
The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ms. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today informed that various State Governments including Government of Rajasthan were requested to organize programmes to create awareness on benefits of fortified rice and its positive impact on nutritional security in the tribal areas of the country.
Accordingly, workshops/seminars in 9 districts having tribal population – in the States of Gujarat (Vapi), Maharashtra (Nashik and Nandurbar), Chhattisgarh (Kanker), Jharkhand (East Singhbhum), Madhya Pradesh (Shahdol, Mandla, Barwani) and Kerala (Wayanad) were conducted with the involvement of DFPD, FCI and other stakeholders such as Field Experts including Medical Professionals members of Media, prominent personalities, local leaders and Development Partners.
A provision of Administrative/Contingency Cost which inter-alia includes Information, Education, Communication (IEC) and Capacity Building to the tune of Rs. 5.00 lakh per district has been made, which is to be borne by the Government of India during the implementation of rice fortification initiative in Phase-II and Phase-III.
With the increased awareness and knowledge about the positive impacts of consumption of fortified rice, during 3rd quarter of FY 2022-23, out of 291 targeted Districts for the implementation in Phase-II, the coverage of implementation has increased to 250 Districts including districts having tribal population. Besides, some States have reported that awareness programme on rice fortification has had a positive impact on the mindset of public in general about the benefits of consumption of fortified rice.
27-Sep-2022: IEC Campaign on Fortified Rice in Tribal Areas in five States
In order to popularise and create awareness about the benefit of Fortified Rice specially in Tribal Areas of the country, the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) and States governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana Rajasthan, Kerala organized workshops and seminars in the tribal belts and districts that have populations that are vulnerable to Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Anemia.
In Gujarat, the State Government organized a workshop in Meril Academy, Vapi on September 9, 2022. Following this, workshops were organized at Nanurbar (Maharashtra) on 13.09.2022, Nashik (Maharashtra) on 14.09.2022, Kanker (Chattisgarh) on 15.09.2022, Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) on 16.09.2022, Barwani (M.P.) on 20.09.2022, Mandla (M.P) on 22.09.2022 and Shahdol (M.P.) on 24.09.2022 in association with DFPD, Development Partners and FCI where Minister of State Governments, Collectors, DMs, Technical experts, Local experts, Doctors, Civil Surgeons, NGOs, Fair price Shop dealers, Sarpanch, Leaders of Tribal areas, Officials of Civil supply, Health, ICDS, Development partners and experts attended the programme.
The experts highlighted the benefits of fortified rice for the public and addressed their concerns and misgivings of the people and local media.
Fortification is the process of adding Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK), containing FSSAI prescribed micronutrients (Iron, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12) to normal Rice (Custom Milled Rice) in the ratio of 1:100 (Mixing 1 Kg of FRK with 100 Kg custom milled rice). Fortified rice is nearly identical to traditional rice in aroma, taste, and texture. This process is done in the rice mills at the time of milling of rice.
Rice fortification ecosystem has been enhanced significantly on boarding rice millers, FRK manufacturers, industries and other stakeholders for production and supply of fortified rice to meet the target requirement. There are more than 9000 rice mills in the country which have installed blending infrastructure for production of fortified rice and their cumulative monthly production capacity is around 60 LMT which is increased by more than 4 times since last year.
Fortification of rice is found to be a cost-effective and complementary strategy to increase vitamin and mineral content in diets with low turnaround time (TAT) and a step towards nutritional security and helps in fighting anemia and malnutrition in the country. This strategy is implemented in many parts of the world.
13-Sep-2022: Centre directs State Governments to organise awareness workshops about the benefits of Fortified Rice
In order to promote the benefits of Fortified Rice while elucidating the concerns about the impact of its consumption among some sections of the population those are vulnerable to Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Anaemia, the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) has requested various States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana Rajasthan, Kerala to organize workshop/seminar by the respective State Governments in the sensitive areas of tribal belts and districts that have populations that are vulnerable to Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Anaemia.
This initiative has been carried out by organizing workshops by the Govt. of Gujarat at Meril Academy, in Vapi on 09.09.2022 where Hon’ble Finance Minister, Government of Gujarat, Minister, Food & Public Distribution, Govt. of Gujarat, State Minister Food and Public Distribution, Government of Gujarat and other higher officers of Govt. of Gujarat and officer from Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, technical experts and members from media attended the programme.
Ms. Neha Arora, State Programme Officer, Nutritional International, Gujarat made a presentation on fortified staples provided through social safety net programmes. Dr. Yazdi Italia former Honorary Director, Sickle Cell Anemia Control Programme, a Go-NGO Partnership Program of Govt. of Gujarat made a presentation on understanding Hemoglobinopathis-Sickle Cell Anemia, Thalassemia. Similarly, Prof. (Dr.) Sirimavo Nair, Nodal Officer, Gujarat (NFSA Concurrent Evaluation D/o Food & PD-Govt. of India) made a presentation on fortified staples and its positive impact on public health. Dr. Bhavesh Bariya, Asst. Professor, Department of Community Medicine, NAMO-MERI-Silvasa also made a presentation on fortified staples and its effect on Hemoglobinopathis.
The presentations were followed by a Panel discussion by technical experts and officials from FCI and D/o Food & PD. The programme was covered by several leading local newspapers in Gujarat.
At the end of the workshop, there was general consensus regarding the positive impact of rice fortification in Govt. schemes and its significant contribution to the country’s nutritional security strategy.
27-Jun-2019: Distribution of Fortified Ration
The Nutrient requirements and recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) for all age groups of the population including children are set and revised periodically by the National Institute of Nutrition - Indian Council of Medical Research.
The requirement of nutrients in children varies with the age, gender and nutritional status of the children. The RDAs for Indian population are finalized by National Institute of Nutrition – Indian Council of Medical Research (NIN-ICMR) based on the recommendations of the Expert Group, based on individual variability and nutrient bioavailability from the habitual diet.
As per the information received from Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Department of Food & Public Distribution has approved the "Centrally Sponsored Pilot Scheme on Fortification of Rice & its distribution through Public Distribution System". Financial Assistance up to 90% in case of North-Eastern, Hilly and Island States and up to 75% in case of rest of the States has been extended. Further, Government of India has also advised all States/UTs especially those States/UTs that are distributing wheat flour through Public Distribution System (PDS), to distribute fortified wheat flour through PDS.
The details of the States/UTs disbursing fortified ration through PDS is given below:
|
S. No |
States/UTs |
Status of disbursing fortified ration under PDS |
|
1 |
Andhra Pradesh |
DFS (4 Districts) |
|
2 |
Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
Fortified Wheat flour (All) |
|
3 |
Dadra & Nagar Haveli |
DFS(All) |
|
4 |
Gujarat |
Fortified Edible Oil (All) |
|
5 |
Himachal Pradesh |
Fortified Edible Oil (All) |
|
6 |
Karnataka |
Fortified Rice (1 District-Yadgir) |
|
7 |
Madhya Pradesh |
DFS(20 Districts-Alirajpur, Dindori, Anuppur, Betul, Dhar, Balaghat, Ratlam, Barwani, Mandla, Khargone, Chhindwara, Shahdol, Seoni, Jhabua, Sheopur, Hoshangabad, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Sidhi, Umaria) |
|
8 |
Maharashtra |
Fortified Rice (1 District-Gadchiroli) |
|
9 |
Rajasthan |
Fortified Edible Oil (All) |
|
10 |
Tamil Nadu |
DFS (All) |
|
11 |
Uttar Pradesh |
DFS (10 Districts-Meerut, Moradabad, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Hamirpur, Faizabad, Siddharthnagar, Sant Kabirnagar, Mau, Auraiya) |
|
12 |
West Bengal |
Fortified Wheat Flour (All). |
6-Dec-2022: National telemedicine service of India - eSanjeevani achieves 8 crore teleconsultations
In a significant achievement, eSanjeevani, Govt. of India’s free telemedicine service, has crossed another astounding milestone by clocking 8 crore teleconsultations. The last 1 crore consultations were recorded in a remarkable time frame of around 5 weeks, signaling a wider adoption of telemedicine. An e-health initiative of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, eSanjeevani is a national telemedicine service that strives to provide an alternative to the conventional physical consultations via digital platform.
In less than 3 years, this initiative has garnered the distinction of being the world’s largest government owned telemedicine platform. It consists of two verticals that cater to patients across all states and UTs successfully making its presence felt in the innermost regions of the nation.
The first vertical eSanjeevani AB-HWC endeavors to bridge rural-urban digital health divide by providing assisted teleconsultations, and ensuring that e beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat Scheme are able to avail of the benefits they are entitled to. This vertical operates on a Hub-and-Spoke model wherein the ‘Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centers’ (HWCs) are set up at state level, act as spokes, which are mapped with the hub (comprising MBBS/ Specialty/Super-Specialty doctors) at zonal level. With the objective to provide quality health services to a patient residing in rural areas, this model has been successfully implemented in 1,09,748 Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) and 14,188 Hubs, achieving a total of 7,11,58,968 teleconsultations.
eSanjeevaniOPD is the latter vertical which caters to citizens in both rural and urban alike. It leverages technology via smartphones, tablets, laptops enabling doctor consultations to be accessible from the patient’s residence regardless of location. eSanjeevaniOPD has acquired 1,144 online OPDs with 2,22,026 specialists, doctors and health workers that have been trained and onboarded. This platform has an impressive record of having served over 4.34 lakhs patients in one day. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Mohali, which is providing holistic technical training and support to users, is augmenting the faculties of this vertical to be able to serve up to 1 million patients per day.
eSanjeevani is a cohesive part Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission (ABDM), and more than 45,000 ABHA IDs have been generated via eSanjeevani application.
Leading ten states for usage of this platform are: Andhra Pradesh (28242880), West Bengal (10005725), Karnataka (9446699), Tamil Nadu (8723333), Maharashtra (4070430), Uttar Pradesh (3763092), Madhya Pradesh (3283607), Bihar (2624482), Telangana (2452529), Gujarat (1673888).
3-Jun-2022: ‘eSanjeevani’, Govt. of India’s free Telemedicine service integrated with NHA’s Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)
The National Health Authority (NHA) announces the successful integration of eSanjeevani with its flagship scheme – Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). This integration allows the existing users of eSanjeevani, the telemedicine service of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to easily create their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) and use it to link and manage their existing health records like prescriptions, lab reports, etc. The users would also be able to share their health records with doctors on eSanjeevani which will help in better clinical decision making and ensuring the continuum of care.
Speaking about the significance of this integration, Dr. R. S. Sharma, CEO, NHA said – “ABDM aims to build digital highways to bridge the gaps in existing digital health solutions and stakeholders in India. The integration of eSanjeevani with ABDM is one such example where the 22 crore ABHA holders can link and store their health records created via eSanjeevani directly in the health lockers of their choice. The users can also share their previously linked health records with the doctors on eSanjeevani making the entire consultation process paper-less.”
eSanjeevani service is available in two variants. The first one is eSanjeevani Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWC) – the Doctor-to-Doctor telemedicine service through which the beneficiaries visiting a HWC can virtually connect to doctors/ specialists in the Hub that could be at tertiary healthcare facility/hospital/medical college. This enables the government to provide general and specialised health services in rural areas and isolated communities. The second variant, eSanjeevani OPD is serving patients across the country, connecting them directly to doctors from the comforts of their homes. Both versions – eSanjeevani AB-HWC and eSanjeevani OPD have been integrated with ABDM platform.
The eSanjeevani telemedicine platform now joins other 40 digital health applications that have completed their ABDM integration. Together, these health tech services are building a robust, inter-operable and inclusive digital health ecosystem for the country. More info on ABDM integrated apps here: https://abdm.gov.in/our-partners.
25-Mar-2022: Health Ministry’s flagship telemedicine service - “eSanjeevani” records 3 Crore tele-consultations
India has crossed a landmark milestone in its eHealth journey. eSanjeevani telemedicine service of Union Health Ministry has crossed 3 crore tele-consultations. Also, “eSanjeevani” telemedicine has set a new record by completing 1.7 lakhs consultations in a day.
In some States, the service is operational on all days of the week and few States are running it round the clock, as well. The telemedicine service contributed considerably during COVID-19 and it decreased load on hospitals and helped patients to digitally/remotely consult medical professionals. This has helped in bridging the rural urban divide by taking quality health services to homes of beneficiaries.
eSanjeevani, first-of-its-kind telemedicine initiative by any country has two variants:
- eSanjeevani Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centre(AB-HWC): A Doctor-to-Doctor telemedicine service under Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres scheme of the Government of India, to provide general and specialised health services in rural areas and isolated communities. Doctor-to-Doctor telemedicine service is based on a Hub-and-Spoke model. ‘eSanjeevani AB-HWC’ enables virtual connection between the beneficiary (along with the paramedic and a generalist) at the spoke i.e. HWC and the doctor/specialist at the hub (tertiary healthcare facility/hospital/medical college). This facilitates real-time virtual consultation from doctors & specialists at the hub with the beneficiary (through paramedics) at the spoke. The e-prescription generated at end of the session is used for obtaining medicines. ‘eSanjeevani AB-HWC’ was implemented with a vision to provide quality health services to maximum number of citizens by leveraging potential of Information Technology bypassing hindrances of geography, accessibility, cost and distance. Currently, eSanjeevani HWC is operational at around 50,000 Health & Wellness Centres.
- eSanjeevaniOPD: This is a patient-to-doctor telemedicine service to enable people to get outpatient services in the confines of their homes. ‘eSanjeevaniOPD’ has also been speedily and widely adopted by citizens in all parts of the country. It is available as a mobile app for both Android and iOS based smart phones, and these apps have seen over 3 million downloads.
Of the 3 crore beneficiaries, 2,26,72,187 have been served through eSanjeevani AB-HWC portal while 73,77,779 have availed the benefits through eSanjeevaniOPD. Over 1,00,000 doctors, specialists etc., have been onboarded to serve beneficiaries on the National Telemedicine Service. The substantial number of consultations through ‘eSanjeevani AB-HWC’ indicates that rural India has embraced the use of digital health technologies. It further strengthens the aim of Ayushman Bharat scheme which strives for Universal Health Coverage by providing universal, free and quality healthcare closer to people’s homes.
eSanjeevaniOPD now enables creation of Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), which will facilitate access and shareability of health data with consent of the beneficiary, with participating healthcare providers and beneficiaries as per Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
eSanjeevani is an exemplification of the ‘Make in India’ initiative as it has been developed indigenously by the Health Informatics Group in Mohali branch Centre for Development and Advanced Computing (C-DAC) a number of experienced engineers are providing constant backend technical and operational support to ensure high throughput and high uptime; the National Telemedicine Service is operational with over 99.5% uptime. eSanjeevani is now being augmented further by the Health Informatics Group in the Mohali’s branch of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing. AI-led interventions are being conceptualized to enhance the convenience and efficacy of the service. Services to support more than 10 lakhs consultations per day in the very near future are in the offing.
Witnessing the success of National Telemedicine Service of MHFW and quick adoption of telemedicine in the country, Ministry of Defence has rolled out SeHATOPD - Services eHealth Teleconsultation & Assistance - a telemedicine portal for defense personnel. SeHATOPD specifically serves defence personnel and their dependents. Soon, SeHATOPD will be integrated with Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) to make the benefits of tele-consultation easily accessible to the veterans and their families. National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and Alliance India are working on a dedicated national telemedicine platform (eHIVCare) for people living with HIV/AIDS. It will also operate along the same lines as eSanjeevani in terms of technology but will be customised in a way that caters to the particular needs of HIV/AIDS patients in order to augment a better and more comfortable quality of treatment to them.
10 States that are leading in terms of adoption of eSanjeevani are Andhra Pradesh (13147461), Karnataka (4424407), West Bengal (2987386), Tamil Nadu (1856861), Uttar Pradesh (1758053), Bihar (1002399), Maharashtra (930725), Madhya Pradesh (781262), Gujarat (753775) and Assam (477821).
24-Aug-2021: Health Ministry’s eSanjeevani initiative completes 1 Crore consultations
Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare’s National Telemedicine Service eSanjeevani has rapidly shaped into country’s most popular and the largest telemedicine service. eSanjeevani has been widely adopted by patients as well as doctors, and specialists across the country. In a record time the National Telemedicine Service has conducted more than 1 Crore (i.e. 10 million) tele-consultations across India. That eSanjeevani has been quickly adopted by patients, doctors and specialists across the country is evident from the fact that it has shown astounding growth of over 1000% in last 10 months. The National Telemedicine Service which was used for 160,807 tele-consultations in the month of September in 2020 enabled 1,650,822 tele-consultations in the month of July 2021.
It is noteworthy that even when the internet penetration in the country is below 50%, this innovative digital health initiative of the Union Health Ministry has been able to defeat the tyranny of geography, distance, and time and establish itself as a parallel stream of healthcare services delivery. eSanjeevani has also alleviated numerous challenges typically linked with healthcare delivery, such as higher costs and fatigue pertaining to seeking an in-person consultation with a doctor besides controlling the ongoing pandemic that had burdened the country’s healthcare infrastructure like never before.
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in 2018, had conceptualised the use of telemedicine to aid implementation of Ayushman Bharat – the world’s largest govt. owned health insurance scheme. Accordingly, eSanjeevani - the flagship telemedicine technology of Govt. of India developed by the Mohali branch of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) was customized and eSanjeevani AB-HWC was rolled out in 2019 as a Doctor-to-Doctor telemedicine platform. After the COVID-19 pandemic touched Indian shores, and all the OPDs in the country were closed because of national lockdown, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in sync with the release of Telemedicine Practice Guidelines by Govt. of India in March 2020conceptualized another version of eSanjeevani for Patient-to-Doctor telemedicine. Accordingly, owing to the strong coordination between the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the eSanjeevani team in C-DAC Mohali, eSanjeevaniOPD was developed and deployed rapidly across the country. On 13th April 2020, eSanjeevaniOPD was launched to facilitate provision health services for patients in the confines of their homes.
eSanjeevaniOPD - the second variant of union health ministry’s mammoth telemedicine initiative was initially rolled out as a minimalistic platform with one general OPD per State. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand etc. were the early adopters of this first of its kind of telemedicine initiative. In less than a month, over half the States in the country had adopted eSanjeevaniOPD and had rolled out remote consultation services for their populace. Considering the uptake of eSanjeevaniOPD by the populace, forward-looking health administrations in the States & Union Territories asked for ramping up the capacities of eSanjeevaniOPD for enabling them to roll out multiple concurrent specialty and super-specialty online OPDs. Premier institutions and agencies like AIIMS in Bathinda, Bibinagar, Kalyani, Bilaspur, Rishikesh, Lady Harding Medical College (New Delhi), Safdarjung Hospital (New Delhi), King George Medical University (Lucknow), Central Govt. Health Scheme (CGHS), Cancer Research Centres in Kerala etc. are also offering their specialty and super-specialty services remotely. During the second wave of COVID 19, the Defence Ministry too had roped in ex-AFMS doctors to launch national online defence services OPD on eSanjeevaniOPD that provided health services remotely to patients across India. In many States eSanjeevaniOPD is enabling provision of health services delivery for more than 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. eSanjeevaniOPD services can been accessed through web browser as well as Android application and the iOS application is scheduled to be launched very soon.
The National Telemedicine Service of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has rapidly evolved into country’s largest OPD service. The eSanjeevani network is currently serving around 75,000 patients on daily basis it is hosting 439 online OPDs, 43 of these are general OPDs and 396 are specialty and super-specialty OPDs. On the other hand, following a Hub & Spoke model, eSanjeevani AB-HWC has been implemented at around 27,000 Health & Wellness Centres as spokes and over 2200 Hubs in States. By the end of 2022, eSanjeevani AB-HWC is slated to be implemented at 1,55,000 Health & Wellness Centres nationally. Over 60,000 specialists, doctors and paramedics have been on boarded on the National Telemedicine Service.
In order to extend the reach of the delivery of contactless, risk-free and safe health services, the State governments are complimenting the efforts of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare by establishing a robust digital health ecosystem comprising IT savvy human and infrastructural resources. Considering the potential, benefits and widespread acceptance of eSanjeevani initiative of the Health Ministry in the country and in wake of the impending third wave of COVID 19 the central Government in its Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package has earmarked financial support for expanding eSanjeevani initiative to boost its capacities to provide 5 lakh teleconsultations per day. The eSanjeevani team at Centre for Development of Advanced Computing in Mohali has already initiated the process to scale the platform. This financial support would also enable States and UTs to boost IT infrastructure at the Covid Care Centres (CCCs) and the Hubs for eSanjeevani Tele-consultation in all the districts of the country.
eSanjeevani has been used by public in 701 districts across India and over 56% of the patients on eSanjeevani are females. Of the 1 Crore patients served by eSanjeevani around 0.5% are 80 years and older, around 18% of the patients are 20 years or younger.
It has been noted that the National Telemedicine Service is relatively more popular in tier II and tier III cities. The top 10 districts with highest consultations are Chittoor, East Godavari, Guntur, Nellore, West Godavari, Krishna, Prakasam, Anantapur, Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and Salem in Tamil Nadu.
The top ten States which have registered highest consultations through eSanjeevani and eSanjeevani OPD platforms are Andhra Pradesh (2751271), Karnataka (1939444), Tamil Nadu (1476227), Uttar Pradesh (1232627), Gujarat (416221), Madhya Pradesh (369175), Bihar (343811), Maharashtra (331737), Kerala (237973), Uttarakhand (226436).
14-Dec-2020: “eSanjeevani” telemedicine service records 1 million tele-consultations
India has crossed a landmark milestone in its eHealth journey. eSanjeevani telemedicine service of the Health Ministry has crossed 1 million (10 lakh) tele-consultations today. 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 roll out 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 eSanjeevani AB-HWC enables doctor to doctor teleconsultations and is being used at around 6000 Health & Wellness Centres which are being served by specialists and doctors in around 240 hubs which have been set up by States in District Hospitals or Medical Colleges etc. Over 20,000 paramedics, doctors and specialists have been trained to use eSanjeevani AB-HWC. The second stream eSanjeevaniOPD is or 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 8000 doctors have been trained and onboarded on eSanjeevaniOPD and on an average around 1500 doctors practice telemedicine daily in around 225 online OPDs 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.
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. These stands as a testimony to the fact that public has started preferring telemedicine over visiting hospital OPDs for consulting a doctor.
Considering the inherent potential and social impact of this emergent digital modality of delivery of health services, the States have designed innovative applications around eSanjeevaniOPD. In Kerala, eSanjeevaniOPD is is being used for providing health services to the inmates of Palakkad District Jail, in Himachal Pradesh too it is being rolled out in old age homes. Quick adoption of eSanjeevaniOPD services across the country has enabled launch of wide range of speciality and super-speciality OPDs including alternative medical systems such as AYUSH and naturopathy. Kerala has already setting up OPDs on eSanjeevaniOPD for providing services of Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram – District Early Intervention Centres for its populace. Each of these 14 online OPDs has a team comprising of psychologist, special educator, speech therapist and a physiotherapist who collectively address common issues pertaining to child development and their future health.
The State Governments are complimenting the efforts of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, by establishing a robust digital health ecosystem comprising of IT savvy human and infrastructural resources to boost the adoption of eSanjeevani. The Health Informatics group of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing in Mohali is providing end-to-end technical services including development, implementation, operations, of eSanjeevaniOPD besides training clinicians. The Health Ministry in consultation with the States and C-DAC Mohali is consistently working towards enriching features and functionalities in eSanjeevani to empower patients and doctors even more.
The top ten States with highest consultations through eSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD platforms are Tamil Nadu (319507), Uttar Pradesh (268889), Madhya Pradesh (70838), Gujarat (63601), Kerala (62797), Himachal Pradesh (49224), Andhra Pradesh (39853), Karnataka (32693), Uttarakhand (31910) and Maharashtra (12635).
21-Nov-2020: Health Ministry’s eSanjeevani completes 8 Lakh consultations
India has seen a landmark achievement in the space of digital health initiatives. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s eSanjeevani, the national telemedicine initiative, has completed 8 lakh consultations today.
This is fast emerging as a sought after and popular means of seeking health care, especially during the COVID times in order to avoid physical contact while still benefitting by quality services. Over 11,000 patients are seeking health services on a daily basis in 27 States/UTs. eSanjeevani is also facilitating some states as a model that can serve patients throughout the year, especially in the far flung and remote areas.
The top ten States which have registered highest consultations through eSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD platforms are Tamil Nadu (259904), Uttar Pradesh (219715), Kerala (58000), Himachal Pradesh (46647), Madhya Pradesh (43045), Gujarat (41765), Andhra Pradesh (35217), Uttarakhand (26819), Karnataka (23008), Maharashtra (9741).
eSanjeevani’s both variants of telemedicine namely - doctor to doctor (eSanjeevani AB-HWC) and patient to doctor (eSanjeevaniOPD) are consistently growing in terms of users on both sides i.e. patients / health workers on the one end and doctors on the other. eSanjeevani AB-HWC was launched by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in November 2019 and it is to be implemented at 1,55,000 Health and Wellness Centres under Govt. of India’s Ayushman Bharat Scheme in ‘Hub & Spoke’ model by December 2022. eSanjeevani AB-HWC is functional at over 4,700 Health and Wellness Centres and over 17,000 doctors and health workers have been trained on its use. eSanjeevaniOPD, the second variant of this ambitious initiative, was rolled out on 13th of April 2020 during the first lockdown when OPDs across the country were closed to prevent COVID-19 infections.
eSanjeevani is having a significant impact amongst the section of populace where the travel distance, time and cost have been the barriers to seeking outpatient services. It has served as a viable and preferred option for consulting with a doctor. So far 16 districts have registered more than 10,000 consultations and over 100 districts have registered more than 1000 consultations.
Over 7500 doctors have been trained and on boarded to provide telemedicine services on over 220 online OPDs on eSanjeevaniOPD. eSanjeevaniOPD enables access to OPD services by the patients in the confines of their homes. Over 100 telemedicine practitioners have completed more than 1,000 teleconsultations and a few of them have logged over 10,000 consultations. As regards patients, over 20% patients use eSanjeevani to consult with doctors more than once. As many of these are small districts, it reflects that eSanjeevani is having equal or more impact in smaller districts.
Health Ministry along with State/UT Governments is making rapid strides to continuously optimise the utilisation of human resources. In few States same set of doctors and specialists are now providing services on both doctor-to-doctor and patient-to-doctor variant of eSanjeevani. The eSanjeevani team at C-DAC Mohali is extending all the technical support ranging from development, deployment, implementation, training, operations and management of eSanjeevani.
7-Nov-2020: Health Ministry’s telemedicine service eSanjeevani completes 7 lakh consultations
eSanjeevani, the national telemedicine service set up by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, has completed 7 lakh consultations today. The last one lakh consultations have come up in 11 days. This novel digital modality to deliver OPD services virtually has been rapidly gaining popularity. With over 10,000 consultations being recorded on eSanjeevani per day, it is shaping into the largest OPD services set up in the country.
An innovative intervention to deliver health services, eSanjeevani has started making impact in smaller towns and rural areas. While telemedicine is beneficial for the patients, it also is favourable for the doctors practicing telemedicine as it limits the contact with patients who are present virtually. eSanjeevani has removed the requirement of doctor to be at a specific location to provide services, it enables States specially the ones with large geographical area, to better management of their human resources. Through eSanjeevani, patients desirous of seeking medical consultations are placed in a virtual queue and upon their turn can see a doctor who is available virtually but present in another city. Each online OPD consultation generates an ePrescription which can be used to buy medicines or go for diagnostic investigations. States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have already issued government orders to ensure that ePrescriptions are honored.
Utilisation of eSanjeevani in States like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka has gone up significantly in the recent past. In Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Uttarakhand the utilisation of eSanjeevani has already been high and steady for past few months. The top ten States which have registered highest consultations through eSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD platforms are Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India along with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (Mohali) is consistently enhancing the capabilities and adding new functionalities in eSanjeevani in consultation with State Administrations.
eSanjeevani supports two types of online consultation with general physicians and medical specialists, these are Doctor-to-Doctor (eSanjeevani AB-HWC) and Patient-to-Doctor (eSanjeevani OPD) Tele-consultations. The former variant was rolled out in November 2019 and it is an important pillar of the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWCs) programme. eSanjeevani (AB-HWC) is to be implemented in all the 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres in a 'Hub and Spoke' model, by December 2022. States need to set up dedicated 'Hubs' in Medical Colleges and District hospitals to provide tele-consultation services to 'Spokes', i.e. Health & Wellness Centres (HWC). The Health Ministry rolled out eSanjeevaniOPD i.e. the second variant to enable patient-to-doctor teleconsultations in April this year during first lockdown when the OPDs across the country were closed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
9-Aug-2020: 1.5 lakh tele-consultations completed through ‘eSanjeevani’ and ‘eSanjeevaniOPD’
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, today presided over a review meeting with States/UTs on the “eSanjeevani” and “eSanjeevaniOPD” platforms as1.5 lakh tele-consultations were completed on the tele-medicine service platforms of the Health Ministry. Sh. Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare was also present. Dr. C. Vijaya Baskar, Health Minister of Tamil Nadu joined virtually.
In a short span of time since November 2019, tele-consultation by eSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD have been implemented by 23 States (which covers 75% of the population) and other States are in the process of rolling it out.
In a landmark achievement, the national telemedicine service has completed more than 1,50,000 tele-consultations enabling patient to doctor consultations from the confines of their home, as well as doctor to doctor consultations.
Expressing appreciation for this accomplishment, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “Under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister, we have started implementing the vision of Digital India through broadband and mobile phones at the Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centres. With the cooperation of States and UTs, and a pool of selfless and talented medical practitioners and specialists, we have been able to provide healthcare services through tele-medicine platform such as eSanjeevani. This has substantially augmented our health infrastructure during the COVID pandemic”.
Echoing similar sentiments, Sh. Ashwini K. Choubey remarked that it would be a “gamechanger for people in the rural areas who do not have easy access to medical specialists located in cities”.
This eSanjeevani platform has enabled two types of telemedicine services viz. Doctor-to-Doctor (eSanjeevani) and Patient-to-Doctor (eSanjeevani OPD) Tele-consultations. The former is being implemented under the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWCs) programme. It is planned to implement tele-consultation in all the 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres (as spokes) in a ‘Hub and Spoke’ model, by December 2022. States have identified and set up dedicated ‘Hubs’ in Medical Colleges and District hospitals to provide tele-consultation services to ‘Spokes’, i.e. SHCs and PHCs. As on date, 12,000 users comprising Community Health Officers and Doctors have been trained to make use of this national e-platform. Presently, telemedicine is being provided through more than 3,000 HWCs in 10 States.
Owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Health Ministry launched the second tele-consultation service enabling patient-to-doctor telemedicine through ‘eSanjeevaniOPD’. Offered at no cost, this e-health service is rapidly gaining popularity as citizens in around 20 States are now consulting doctors without having to go to the hospital physically. Around 2800 doctors have been trained and on-boarded at eSanjeevaniOPD and every day around 250 doctors and specialists across the country provide eHealth services despite the lockdown has been relaxed in phases. This service is available as an Android mobile application as well. This has made it convenient for the people to avail of the health services without having to travel. It also ensures that the patient gets to see the doctor in around five minutes after logging in.
As of now, out of total of 1,58,000 tele-consultations were offered across the country - out of which, 67,000 consultations were provided through eSanjeevani at Ayushman Bharat HWCs and 91,000 patient to doctor consultations through eSanjeevaniOPD mode. Presently, on an average, around 5,000 consultations per day are provided through both the modes (eSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD).
The telemedicine platform is hosting over 40 online OPDs, more than half of these are specialty OPDs which include Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Dermatology, ENT, Ophthalmology, antiretroviral therapy (ART) for the AIDS/HIV patients, Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) etc.
The top ten States which have registered highest consultations through eSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD platforms are Tamil Nadu (32,035 consultations), Andhra Pradesh (28,960), Himachal Pradesh (24,527), Uttar Pradesh (20,030), Kerala (15,988), followed by Gujarat (7127), Punjab (4450), Rajasthan (3548), Maharashtra (3284) and Uttarakhand (2596).
The majority share in the doctor-to-doctor eSanjeevani consultations at AB-HWCs has been of Andhra Pradesh (25,478) and Himachal Pradesh (23,857) while Tamil Nadu leads in the patient-to-doctor eSanjeevaniOPD services with 32,035 consultations.
In the discussion with the States, the contribution of all the States utilizing this e-health services (eSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD platform) was lauded. The Health Minister of Tamil Nadu thanked for the support of Health Ministry and C-DAC in the roll out of the tele-medicine platform and highlighted the achievement of the state as registering the highest consultations (32,035) through its online OPD services. Some best practices followed by States were shared during the discussion viz. Andhra Pradesh has started implementing eSanjeevani in all Panchayats / PHCs; Himachal Pradesh already has provided many specialty services through e-OPDs; Uttar Pradesh has registered 20,030 consultations in a short time period of one month after roll out; Kerala successfully implemented tele-medicine services in a Jail in Palakkad District.
Sh. Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary and other senior officials from the Ministry were present. Dr. P. K. Khosla, Executive Director, C-DAC and Dr. Sanjay Sood, Associate Director, C-DAC, Health Secretaries, MD NHMs and other senior officials of invited States joined digitally.