e-health proves this govt really cares for your health

Health has been a primary concern of human beings since time immemorial. Kerala has for long taken various measures to ensure healthcare for all – from kids to women to people of all ages. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the e-health scheme– a health department programme rolled out in association with the state IT Mission– has been a well-received social objective in the state. 

Under the e-Health project, an ambitious programme implemented by the State government with the help of the World Bank, the government created an electronic health record (EHR) of the people and an end-to-end automation of all the government healthcare institutions along with the integration of an electronic demographic database.

A first-of-its-kind initiative, the comprehensive health scheme digitised all government hospitals in the state and then created an integrated healthcare cloud containing healthcare records of all Kerala citizens. Records showed that the project has been a great success and has brought about a revolutionary change in the healthcare sector.

The government has spent about Rs 96 crore to successfully implement the programme. An interesting result of the digital framework is that it has created a patient-friendly interface for the public healthcare institution across the state. The e-Health has set a base for Aardram, one of the four flagship projects of the government, aimed at improving quality and facilities at government hospitals and to enable treatment at reasonable prices.

It also stopped long and agonising queues at the hospitals and punishing waits in front of laboratories. Patients with their unique IDs will be able to digitally access their documents related to treatment from anywhere. One of the appealing outcomes of the programme is that the state was able to monitor the health of the people during Covid-19 crisis.  

e-Sanjeevani app

The Kerala government was able to use e-Sanjeevani, a tele-medicine mobile application,  as a viable and safe solution for the care of non-Covid-19 patients and avoid any direct contact with doctors during the pandemic. The app with some high-utility features was developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing. The state became a part of the e-Sanjeevani as a way to keep a check on the health of the citizens during the pandemic.