E-Paper
Battle against TB: Special cell of PMC to track patients through software
The cell will ensure that no patient is left out of the system and collect information from private hospitals, civic hospitals, pharmacists and private laboratories
PUNE As many as 7,000 tuberculosis (TB) patients are registered annually in the city and to keep track of every patient, and to ensure that a patient completes the entire cycle of TB treatment, the civic body has now started a special TB cell with five dedicated civic doctors.
The cell will ensure that no patient is left out of the system and collect information from private hospitals, civic hospitals, pharmacists and private laboratories.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set a target of eradicating TB from the world by 2035, while India has set a target of 2025.
Dr Vaishali Jadhav, central TB officer, PMC, said, “This cell will have five dedicated doctors who are civic staff and they will have better control on getting samples and information from private hospitals.”
“Usually, the staff which we have is on a contract basis and there is a lack of communication between them and private hospitalS. Most of the patients left out of the tracking system are from the private hospitals,” said Dr Jadhav.
Jadhav also added that this cell will be efficient to collect samples of TB patients from private hospitals, including bone samples which have to be operated in case of extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
“The cell will also ensure that even if the patient leaves the city or state, the treatment continues. All this is tracked using software and the information is loaded online.”
“Our team visits each patient door to door regularly depending on their treatment and severity of the disease. We collect all information including Aadhar card, bank account details and residential address. The patient gets Rs 500 every month for treatment. The patient is tracked till the results are negative for TB,” said Dr Jadhav.
