About 13,000 remote area patients attended so far in distant areas of Udhampur-Kathua-Doda Lok Sabha constituency by Doctor on Wheels
This is first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art,
Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven free Mobile Telemedicine Clinic: Dr
Jitendra Singh
Majority of beneficiaries are women: Dr Jitendra
Singh
This novel experiment makes use of the latest technology tools whereby the
patient attended by the Mobile Telemedicine Clinic is screened, thoroughly
investigated and then the consultation is obtained from the concerned
super-specialist doctors in one of the leading hospitals in metros like
Hyderabad and Bengaluru with whom an arrangement has been tied up for the
purpose
"Aarogya-Doctor on Wheels" functions on the latest methodology
wherein a patient can narrate his illness or complaint in his native language
and the AI Doctor understands the language and responds to the patient in the
same language
This hi-tech clinic is being conducted in Dudu Basantgarh in the upper reaches
of Ramnagar block of Udhampur under the 4th phase since 17th January 2024,
informs Dr Jitendra Singh
Prime Minister Modi has made a firm resolve to provide healthcare facilities to
the remotest parts of the country, harnessing the latest technological
developments. The present initiative is also inspired by that: Dr Jitendra
Singh
Nearly 13,000 remote area patients have been attended so far in the
far-flung regions of Udhampur-Kathua-Doda Lok Sabha constituency by “Doctor on
Wheels”, the first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art, Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven free
Mobile Telemedicine Clinic.
This was stated in New Delhi today in a media interview by Union
Minister Dr Jitendra Singh who said that this novel experiment
makes use of the latest technology tools whereby the patient attended by the
Mobile Telemedicine Clinic is screened, thoroughly investigated and then the
consultation is obtained from the concerned super-specialist doctor in one of
the leading hospitals in metros like Hyderabad and Bengaluru with whom an
arrangement has been tied up for the purpose. This entire exercise of patient
examination and providing a prescription is accomplished in around 45 minutes
which may otherwise take several days if the patient has to physically go to
the hospital, he said.
The majority of beneficiaries of the ‘Doctor on Wheels’ initiative are
women, said Dr Jitendra Singh, stating that out of a total of 11,431
beneficiaries in Doda, Hiranagar and Kathua -Billawar areas, 6,643 were women.
Same trend is visible currently in the fourth phase in remote Dudu
Basantgarh in the upper reaches of Ramnagar block of district Udhampur
where as many as 835 women have availed consultation out of a total of
1,452 beneficiaries in 56 villages under 22 Panchayats where the Clinic
van has camped so far, he said.
Dr Jitendra Singh further explained that while the entire process of
patient’s examination and consultation calls for a very heavy cost, in
this case it is being done free of cost to the patients in his constituency
through the funds raised from voluntary sources.
The state-of-the-art, Artificial Intelligence (AI)
supported "Aarogya-Doctor on Wheels" is possibly the first
of its kind Telemedicine Mobile Clinic, said Dr Jitendra Singh.
Its huge success will inspire other similar initiatives elsewhere across
the country as well, he said.
"Aarogya-Doctor on Wheels" functions on the latest
methodology wherein a patient can narrate his illness or complaint in his
native language and the AI Doctor understands the language and responds to the
patient in the same language, said Dr Jitendra Singh.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, this free telemedicine facility overcomes
the problems of ‘Accessibility, Availability and Affordability'. He
said, the obstacles like quality of services, specialised doctor, distance
of travelling and cost of consultation/treatment are targeted and solved
efficiently through this facility. Ordinarily, a metro hospital will cost a
patient very heavily and may take two to three weeks’ time. This type of
free telemedicine mobile camp solves all the problems especially for those
having weak socio-economic background, he said.
For the convenience of patients, the prescribed medicines are also being
provided free of cost and in addition, medicine kits containing commonly used
drugs are being distributed across the constituency free of cost to all the
families in general, Dr Jitendra Singh informed.
The mobile telemedicine clinic "Aarogya-Doctor on Wheels" is
an initiative to tie up with various doctors of leading super speciality hospitals
of the country providing quality healthcare to the remotest and inaccessible
areas, he said.
This latest super speciality mobile hospital, inspired by the Prime
Minister's Digital Health Mission and Ayushman Bharat, is providing doorstep
consultation with doctors and has helped bridge the Urban and Rural divide
in preventive healthcare, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh informed that the mobile Aarogya clinic is
presently being conducted in Dudu Basantgarh in the upper reaches of
Ramnagar block of Udhampur under the 4th phase from 17th January
2024.
Dr Jitendra Singh, who represents the Udhampur parliamentary
constituency that also covers Kathua and Doda districts, said, the first phase
of this facility covered more than 60 villages in the far-flung Gandoh
area of district Doda where it spent three months. The second phase was
conducted along the Zero Line villages of the International Border, and the
third phase was held in the upper reaches of Bilawar, where such healthcare
facilities are either not available or inadequately available, he said.
The Union Minister said the mobile telemedicine service, the first
healthcare service that is delivered via digital mode, is being provided
in J&K purely from non-government sources by two Startup groups belonging to
North India and South India.
The mantra of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, - ‘Seva, Samparan and
Start-up’ is being followed in these free telemedicine mobile services with
extraordinary medical facilities for people with low socio-economic background
as this government is dedicated to the poor, said Dr Jitendra Singh.
Dr Jitendra Singh appealed to the local people to avail the facility,
saying that through this latest super speciality hospital, doctors are coming
right to their doorsteps. The ‘Doctor on Wheels’ ambulance is equipped with the
latest technology and system to connect patients with senior doctors from
across the country, he said.
Emphasising that India today is technologically at par with the most
developed countries, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is himself a renowned
Diabetologist, asserted that these services are of the same standards as the
ones provided anywhere in the world. He also claimed that advanced robotic
surgeries will be done in the future using telemedicine services.
The Minister said that Prime Minister Modi has made a firm resolve to
provide healthcare facilities to the remotest parts of the country, harnessing
the latest technological developments. The present initiative is also inspired
by that, he said.
India, under PM Modi, surprised the world by administering 220 crore
Covid vaccine doses through Cowin, a fully digital platform, he said.