eSanjeevani is a government scheme that offers online OPD doctor consultations to citizens. This intervention proves even more useful during pandemic times. In this article, you can get all the relevant information about this scheme from a UPSC exam perspective.

What is eSanjeevani?

eSanjeevani is the first-ever online OPD (outpatient) consultation service offered by the government of India to citizens. According to the government, this is the first time the government of a country is offering a service of this kind to its citizens.

• The scheme was started in November 2019.
• It is run by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Also called the National Teleconsultation Service, it aims to provide healthcare services to patients in their homes. 
• It includes a structured and safe teleconsultation between a doctor and a patient through online mode (eSanjeevani OPD).
• The eSanjeevani OPD portal and system has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Mohali.
• The panel of doctors on the service is drawn by the state governments.
• A few states like Jharkhand, Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, etc. have started offering specialised doctor consultation services also.
• The service is also available on mobile application.

Difference between eSanjeevani and eSanjeevani OPD

eSanjeevani: It is a doctor to doctor telemedicine system that has been deployed nationally for the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare under Ayushman Bharat Scheme. It extends the reach of specialized healthcare services to masses in both rural areas and isolated communities. It tackles the issues of uneven distribution of healthcare personnel and infrastructure by bridging the divide that exists between urban and rural, rich and poor, in terms of access to healthcare services.

eSanjeevani was launched in 2019. The first state to launch this service was Andhra Pradesh.

eSanjeevani OPD: This is based on the eSanjeevani model and offers OPD consultation services to people in the comfort of their homes. This was launched during the COVID pandemic in April 2020. Here, doctor to patient teleconsultation is offered free of cost to the patients.

eSanjeevani OPD was launched in 2020.

Features of eSanjeevani OPD:

Image source: https://esanjeevaniopd.in/

Significance of Telemedicine Services like eSanjeevani

Telemedicine services are essential in a country like ours where the doctor to patient ratio is much lower than the number prescribed by WHO. In India, there is one doctor for every 1445 Indians (the WHO recommended ratio is 1:1000.

The availability of medical services including doctors is highly scarce in rural and remote areas of the country. In such conditions, it is important to have a system that will provide consultation services to people residing in rural and backward/hilly areas. This is where eSanjeevani OPD can be helpful.

Also, during the current pandemic times, it is important that patients find a way to have consultations with doctors for ailments. This can prevent them from travelling to hospitals/PHCs and increase the risk of catching infections especially covid-19. This has proved beneficial in containing the spread of Covid while simultaneously enabling provisions for non-Covid essential healthcare.

eSanjeevani [Govt Schemes for UPSC]:- Download PDF Here