GUWAHATI, Nov 14 – Assam would soon get a round-the-clock health helpline to be manned by 100 doctors in a call centre. The idea behind launching the ‘104’ service is to provide people with medical advice and discuss the same at length over telephone, which on most occasions is not possible in a hospital.
State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed this during a press conference today and further stated a fresh new batch of 100 doctors would be appointed for this purpose, besides other staff members required for the project.
Assam would be the second State to implement this project after Andhra Pradesh, which at present is registering 50,000 calls a day. The project would be implemented by the State Government in association with Health Management Research Institute.
“On most occasions, a patient or his attendant is not able to make out how serious is his or her disease. By calling on this toll free number, they can directly converse with a specialist doctor on the job and take steps accordingly. The doctor, after assessing the seriousness of the disease, may advise the patient to seek the service of 108 or prescribe drugs over telephone, whichever he feels to be right,” Sarma said.
“There are about 16 types of drugs which have been bracketed as over-the-counter drugs, which the doctors would prescribe over telephone as per the guidelines of the Medical Council of India,” he pointed out, adding that the helpline would also act as a health directory.
The minister believed that the new service would lessen the load of the hospitals in a big way, besides providing a platform to those who are reluctant to discuss diseases of sensitive nature like HIV/AIDS and others.
“By January next year, we should be able to make 104 services operational in the State, which would basically work as a tele-medicine service,” the minister stated.
The State would spend Rs 10 crore per annum for the project.
By calling on this number, a caller can even get access to relevant information about any hospital or the facilities available.
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