The digital dispensary will enable online doctor consultation, conduct basic investigations, diagnostic tests, distribute medicine as prescribed
DocOnline an online healthcare consultation platform recently announced the bagging of an order to implement e-PHC services at primary health centres in Uttar Pradesh. As part of the PPP project DocOnline will run couple of e-PHCs or digital dispensaries across major districts of UP to provide complete healthcare solutions to the citizens of these locations. Citizens are entitled to these services at no cost. DocOnline will establish and manage these centres for a period of three years.
The digital dispensary shall enable online doctor consultation, conduct basic investigations and diagnostic tests and distribute medicine as may be prescribed. The digital dispensaries shall be operational for minimum of eight hours every day and six working days every week.
Healthcare delivery in these regions is plagued by various challenges, that include non-availability of doctors due to extreme shortage or absenteeism, pilferage of medicines, lack of basic lab facilities, non-qualified nurses to treat urgent cases amongst others.
“Increasingly we are finding that technology will play a pivotal role in addressing the healthcare challenges of affordability, accessibility, awareness and quality in India. Technology based delivery is helping us expand our footprint in the country with ease and in providing innovative solutions such as the digital dispensaries to improve the overall healthcare requirements even in remote regions. Our vision is to create a healthier life for all people in India and we will continue to use latest in the technology to shape these creative healthcare solutions.”, said Markus Moding, CEO, DocOnline.
How DocOnline will make a difference:
DocOnline will equip each of the PHC locations provided by the government, approximately around 1000-1500 sq ft comprising of two-three rooms with a bed, lab testing facilities and a trained lab technician, a nurse and video conference equipment. A state-of-the-art automatic dispensing system placed at each of the centres will ensure not only correct medicine basis the prescription is dispensed but also drastically lowers the pilferage.
DocOnline through its virtual doctor consultation platform will ensure that doctors are available constantly during specified times for all patients walking into the PHC across the 10 locations to consult via video at these locations. Patients can also take advantage of consulting specialists for the first time through these digital dispensaries, due to access to DocOnline’s extensive panel of doctors.
24/7 power back-up systems will ensure that there is continuity in delivery of the services. Typically, primary healthcare centres witness complaints of snake, dog and scorpion bites apart from cold, cough fever and pregnancy cases. Nurses stationed at the centres are extensively trained and fully equipped to handle such emergencies.
Commenting on the implementation of the e-PHCs Rahul Paith, Chief Operations Officer and Head of Government Affairs, DocOnline said, “These solutions provide for multiple benefits to large number of stakeholders – patient, physician and the hospitals leading to timely, cost effective and quality healthcare delivery and reducing the burden on the government. Affordable accessibility to quality and specialised healthcare to the patients. For the physicians it means improved diagnosis and better treatment management, access to computerised, comprehensive data (text, voice, images etc.) of patients – offline as well as in real time, quick and timely follow-up of patients discharged after palliative care and continuing education or training through video conferencing periodically. And significant reduction in unnecessary visits and hospitalisation for specialised care at tertiary hospitals, earlier discharge of patients leading to shorter length of stay in hospitals, increase in the scope of services without creating physical infrastructure in remote hospitals.”
As per the contract DocOnline will operationalise these from middle of September 2019 and serve lakhs of patients every month and conduct online doctor consultations for this project.