The Centre’s initiative to encourage online medical consultations through an app has found few takers in Jharkhand despite the state government’s push amid an unprecedented rise in Covid-19 cases, health officials said on Monday.

As per data with the National Health Mission (NHM), around 1,500 people consulted doctors using the esanjeevani OPD app in Jharkhand since it was launched on May 1. However, the number of patients using the app for medical consultations has halved since the end of May, said doctors spearheading the initiative.

The nodal officer of the esanjeevani initiative in Jharkhand, Dr. LR Pathak, said around 600 consultations were registered in May, and only 900 more consultations happened in June, July and August. “Patients have started visiting hospitals in person for minor ailments. This practice shows residents aren’t availing of the benefits of easy online consultations, and also puts them at risk of contracting the coronavirus infection,” Pathak said.

The esanjeevaniOPD initiative is aimed at providing free of cost online medical consultation to avoid overcrowding at OPDs of government hospitals. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in August said that over 2 lakh consultations were provided through the app across India. This means that less than 1 per cent people of Jharkhand availed of the benefit.

Pathak attributed the fall in online consultations to relaxations of lockdown curbs and lack of awareness among people. “A majority of the people who sought medical consultation through the app were from urban clusters of Ranchi, East Singhbhum and Bokaro. We need to make the rural populace more aware of the facility, so they don’t rush to the nearest government hospital for regular check-ups or minor ailments,” he said.

In Jharkhand, free medical consultation is provided through the app from 11am to 1pm and from 3pm to 5pm, from Monday to Saturday. Consultation by psychiatrists is offered from 1pm to 2pm, while specialists provide consultations from 2pm to 3pm.

“People who need consultation with specialists can log-in between 2pm to 3pm, while the ones in need of psychiatric help may log in between 1pm to 2pm. Around 200 people have consulted psychiatrists through our platform so far,” said Pathak.

In Jharkhand, the government also started providing free generic medicines at public healthcare centres for patients who seek medical consultations through the app. “At our level, we decided to provide free medicines available with government facilities here to ensure that more people opt for the online consultation,” said Pathak.