Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Health and Family Welfare Department conducted a Telemedicine Review Meeting today to enhance healthcare accessibility across the state. The discussion focused on improving teleconsultations between healthcare facilities at different levels, ensuring better connectivity between Sub-Centres, Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs), and District Headquarter Hospitals (DHHs) with Medical College Hospitals, AHPGIC, and the Paediatric Institute in Cuttack.
Strengthening Cancer Care Services
One of the key highlights of the meeting was the plan to enhance cancer care services by strengthening the connection between District Headquarter Hospital Chemotherapy Centres and AHPGIC, Cuttack. This initiative aims to provide specialized cancer treatment to patients in remote areas, where access to advanced medical care remains a challenge.
Boosting Telemedicine Infrastructure
To improve healthcare delivery in rural and underserved regions, the meeting emphasized enhancing the Telemedicine and e-Sanjeevani platforms. The state aims to expand digital healthcare solutions to ensure that patients receive timely medical consultations regardless of their location.
Raising Public Awareness on Telemedicine
Officials also highlighted the need to increase awareness about telemedicine services among the general public. The discussion focused on encouraging more people to utilize remote healthcare consultations, which could significantly improve healthcare outcomes and reduce the burden on physical healthcare facilities.
The meeting was chaired by Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, Aswathy S, and was attended by key officials, including Dr. Biswa Narayan Mohanty, Advisor to the Government of Odisha for Telemedicine; Dr. Bijay Mohapatra, Special Secretary; Prof. Dr. Santosh Mishra, Director, DMET; Dr. Amarendra Mohanty, Director, SIHFW; Dr. Sanjulata Satpathy, Joint Director, MT; Sailendra Singh Narwariya; Tushar Fegade (C-DAC); Manas Ranjan Pati (OCAC); Debendra Chandra Pradhan; and Santosh Kumar Behera (BSNL).