Delhi-NCR: CGHS begins teleconsultation services amid COVID pandemic

New Delhi: The Central Government Health Scheme under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday announced that it has started tele-consultation services and has initially extended it to its beneficiaries in the Delhi-NCR region.

The new tele-consultation services of CGHS will prove to be a boon for those beneficiaries who are in need of consultation with specialists, but in the times of Covid-19 are not able to step out.

The decision came after the ministry received several requests from various quarters, including senior citizen beneficiaries, to start tele-consultation with specialist doctors in view of the pandemic.

"In order to facilitate consultations through virtual mode without physically visiting a healthcare facility, CGHS has started tele-consultation services w.e.f. 25.8.2020. Initially, these services will be available to beneficiaries in Delhi-NCR. The e-services are available between 9 a.m. and 12 noon on all working days," said the Health Ministry.

To begin with, the specialist consultation will be available for medicine, orthopaedics, eye and ENT. For regular OPD services each CGHS beneficiary is attached to a particular Wellness Centre (WC), although the beneficiaries can avail OPD services at any WC anywhere in the country.

The tele-consultation services are using the existing e-Sanjeevani platform of the Health Ministry. For ease of use, this platform has been linked with the ID of the beneficiaries.

For availing specialist OPD services, the beneficiaries are required to register on the platform using their mobile number after which an OTP will be generated for verification purposes.

"After verification, the beneficiaries can log on to the system, fill the patient registration form, request for a token and upload health records. The patients will receive patient ID and token through SMS, and they will also be intimated about their number in the online queue," the Ministry's statement read.

On their turn, a 'call now' button will be activated and using the same, the beneficiary can initiate a video call with a specialist for consultation. After the tele-consultation, an e-prescription will be generated. Using this, the patients can get medicines issued from their CGHS Wellness Centre.