More than 2,14,715 doctors/paramedics trained under eSanjeevani initiative since 2019: MoS Health informs Parliament

New Delhi: More than 2,14,715 doctors/paramedics have been onboarded and trained under the eSanjeevani initiative since its inception in 2019, the Union Minister of State for Health Smt. Anupriya Patel informed the Lok Sabha recently.

According to MoS Health, The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) rolled out Telemedicine services as a policy intervention under the ambit of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, telemedicine assumed greater importance, enabling practitioners to utilize the digital platform for health counselling and also as a mechanism to train health service providers.

Further, she explained that to augment the potential of the eSanjeevani Platform, eSanjeevani OPD was launched in April 2020 to facilitate online health services to patients in the confines of their homes, free of cost to ensure a continuum of care.

The Minister was responding to a series of questions raised by parliament member Dr M P Abdussamad Samadani who sought to know whether the Government has any plan to ensure that the training and capacity building of healthcare professionals aim at effective use of telemedicine technology to provide accessible healthcare to remote and underserved areas and whether the Government has allocated any specific funds/resources for the development and enhancement of telemedicine infrastructure in public hospitals in the State of Kerala; and if so, the details of the funds allocated and utilized for the purpose during the last three years.

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In response to these questions, MoS Health said, "The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) rolled out Telemedicine services as a policy intervention under the ambit of Ayushman Bharat Scheme. In wake of the COVID -19 pandemic in 2020, telemedicine assumed greater importance, enabling practitioners to utilize the digital platform for health counselling and also as a mechanism to train health service providers. Further, in order to augment the potential of eSanjeevani Platform, eSanjeevani OPD was launched in April 2020, to facilitate online health services to the patients in the confines of their home, free of cost to ensure continuum of care."

"The government ensures the training and capacity building of healthcare professionals for the effective use of telemedicine technology through the eSanjeevani platform. As a result, the eSanjeevani team at C-DAC Mohali conducts virtual training sessions for doctors and healthcare workers to build their capacities," she added.

Till now, the number of teleconsultations completed as of 30th June 2024 is 26,33,16,023. This facility is currently serving around 4-5 lacs patients per day. eSanjeevani (Telemedicine) service is operational in more than 1,26,153 Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs and more than 15,870 hubs located in all States/UTs. More than 2,14,715 doctors/paramedics have been on-boarded and trained under the eSanjeevani initiative ever since its inception in 2019, added MoS Health. 

Further, the Minister shared the data of the funds allocated for the development and enhancement of telemedicine infrastructure in public hospitals in the State of Kerala in the last three years. 

SPIP Approval and Expenditure of the State of Kerala for “Teleconsultation facilities at Health and Wellness Centres” under the National Health Mission (NHM) for the FY 2021-22 to 2023-24 are as follows:

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