Teleconsultation will help rural areas boost their healthcare

Jaipur: The health department has decided to use teleconsultation to boost healthcare facilities in rural regions as well. The state has 6,419 community health officers (CHOs) at the sub-health centre level who will use teleconsultation to connect patients in villages with specialists in district hospitals or community health centres.

Meanwhile, the state government plans to start providing free OPD and IPD services in metropolitan areas on May 1 as part of the Mukhya Mantri Nishulk Nirogi Rajasthan Yojana. Teleconsultation between doctors will be possible, allowing them to discuss a patient’s diagnosis and treatment.

“Orders have been issued in this regard,” a senior health department official said. “It will help patients get consultations of specialist doctors in their villages.”

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., doctors from SMS Medical College’s super-specialty departments such as cardiology, neurology, medico-oncology, nephrology, and endocrinology will give teleconsultation. The number of specialised doctors will be raised if the volume of calls for teleconsultation increases in the following days.

Physicians, gynaecologists, paediatricians, psychiatrists, dermatologists, and ENT specialists will be available for teleconsultation at hospitals affiliated with government medical colleges. In this approach, all CHOs stationed at the sub-health centres that will be converted into health wellness centres will act as ‘spokes,’ in this model, with each of the 6,419 CHOs providing teleconsultation to 10 patients.

Source: TNN