Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said that teleconsultations under the government’s e-Sanjeevani telemedicine service crossed the 1.02 lakh mark in the state during the last fiscal year of 2022-23.

Interacting with beneficiaries of e-Sanjeevani health services through an audio conference during ‘CM Ki Vishesh Charcha’ programme today, the CM said in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Digital India, the e-Sanjeevani service, launched in November 2019 with the objective of delivering high-quality healthcare services to remote areas, has proven to be highly effective for the citizens today.

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“In Haryana, e-Sanjeevani OPD services have been accessible 24 hours a day since 16 August 2021. During the last fiscal year of 2022-23, a total of 1.02 lakh consultations were provided through e-Sanjeevani OPD. E-Sanjeevani serves as a testament to the advent of digital health in India,” he said.

Khattar said venturing outside during the Covid-19 pandemic was fraught with risk, necessitating the imposition of lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus.
He said during this period, people hesitated to seek medical care in hospitals, prioritising their safety from Covid.

“Even if they did visit hospitals, the overwhelming patient load made it exceedingly challenging to secure an appointment with a healthcare professional. It was during these trying times that the e-Sanjeevani service demonstrated its remarkable effectiveness in facilitating medical consultations and treatment from the safety and comfort of one’s home. Haryana launched this service on 1 May 2020,” the CM added.

He said to ensure access to healthcare, the state government has established 22 teleconsultation hubs, one in each district civil hospital in the state besides a Specialist Hub and a Super Specialist Hub in collaboration with PGIMER Chandigarh.

“These initiatives have facilitated direct communication between all primary health centers and sub-health centers with specialist and super specialist doctors. This tele-consultation network now covers all districts in the state and has already handled around 250,000 tele-consultations. Notably, 50 per cent of these consultations were provided by doctors from the specialist hub at PGIMER, Chandigarh,” Khattar said.

He said that the teleconsultation services offered through e-Sanjeevani have brought about a remarkable transformation in Haryana’s healthcare scenario by reducing cost of patient treatment and eliminating the need for physical travel.