Arunachal considers telemedicine facility for hospitals, CHCs

The Arunachal Pradesh government is contemplating introduction of telemedicine in various hospitals and community health centres (CHCs) across the state to improve services, officials said on Wednesday.

The state government would provide specialists for the facility in the healthcare units in districts which have "reliable connectivity", they said.

"The system will operate in a hub-and-spoke model with Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS) as the centre is having connections with various general and district hospitals and also with CHCs," the sources to the state health department said.

The hub-and-spoke model refers to a system of connections arranged like a wire wheel, in which all communication moves along spokes (hospitals and CHCs) connected to the hub at the centre.

The state government had launched the ambitious Chief Minister's Arogya Arunachal Yojana (CMAAY) for providing health insurance coverage for a family up to Rs five lakh per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.

"The government will strengthen the scheme by enlisting important hospitals in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Mumbai and Delhi," sources said.

Arunachal Pradesh government has also been providing assistance up to a ceiling of Rs five lakh per patient under the Chief Minister's Free Chemotherapy scheme and up to Rs 10 lakh per patient for kidney transplant.

The government, in order to provide better healthcare services to poor people, has decided to establish a 200-bed government hospital and a dedicated maternal, child and eye care facility in the state capital.

"The government has created 208 posts of specialists and 108 posts of general duty medical officer (GDMO) to overcome the shortage of doctors in the health centres across the state," officials said adding that the infrastructural facilities at five zonal hospitals in Aalo, Tezu, Khonsa, Bomdila and Ziro are also being upgraded and strengthened.