A telehealth consultation service in the form of an app, docOPD, was launched on Tuesday for Jharkhand under the Centre’s Make in India campaign to encourage innovation and enterprise.
The service, which will be free for senior citizens, intends to fill the gap left by the closure of OPD services in hospitals in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Those who are less than 60 years old will have to pay a nominal Rs 79.
The announcement of the launch was made in Ranchi on Tuesday in the presence of Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth, officials of docOPD and doctors.
MP Seth said senior citizens and children were the worst victims of this pandemic.
“Also, senior citizens need regular medical consultation, but can’t venture out of their homes to visit the nearest hospital or doctor (in the lockdown). For them, this tele-medicine service will be quite useful. There are around 500 doctors empanelled in the project and senior citizens can get consults free of cost,” said the Ranchi MP of the BJP.
Users will have to install the docOPD app on their mobile phones. They will have to submit necessary information like name, address, mobile phone and the nature of their complaint.
If the patient is a senior citizen, he will have to use the coupon code RESPECT 60 in the payment section to avail the free telehealth consult. The user can also select a doctor of his choice for consultation.
Senior neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Kumar said the app was launched about 10 days back in for senior citizens of Delhi and so far 12,000 people had availed the service.
“Development of this app service is a dynamic process, and it will further improve in the coming days. I too have been empanelled among the 500 doctors and in the coming days other doctors of Jharkhand will be added in the list,” Dr Kumar said.
The Covid-19 pandemic has badly affected the conventional health services of Jharkhand, paving way for more telemedicine consults. Almost the entire medical workforce is busy containing the threat of the novel coronavirus and treating existing patients. To curb the spread of the infection through mass contact, OPDs are shut.
