State starts online medical services for non-Covid patients

In an attempt to provide relief to non-Covid patients that are suffering due to the ongoing lockdown, the Maharashtra government started free online teleconsultation

Published on: May 13, 2020, 00:38:39 IST

By Faisal Malik, Mumbai

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In an attempt to provide relief to non-Covid patients that are suffering due to the ongoing lockdown, the Maharashtra government started free online teleconsultation medical services from Tuesday. A patient will have to register online after which he or she will be able to directly chat with an expert doctor through video conferencing or text chat on the portal — www.esanjeevaniopd.in.

It is a joint venture started with the help of the central government. State health minister Rajesh Tope said this is an online OPD service started considering the difficulties faced by the people in the absence of services of private practitioners.

A patient will have to register on the portal with the help of his mobile number. He or she can upload any medical report or other documents available and get a token number. The patient will be notified via to log in on the portal. He or she will be kept in waiting and will be asked to press ‘call now’ button once a doctor is available for them. The patient can directly chat with the doctor through video conferencing or text message and will also get e-prescription after the discussion, the officials said.

“In the beginning, it was started on a pilot basis a few days ago but from now on the services is available across the state. A patient from any district of the state can get the benefit of the services,” Tope said.

However, the service will be available only in the first half of the day between 9.30am to 1.30pm. It will also not available on Sundays.

Tope said that the timings will be increased gradually based on the response from the people.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Faisal Malik
Faisal Malik is a senior journalist with over two and a half decades of experience covering Maharashtra’s politics, governance and public policy with a deep understanding of the state’s political landscape. He is a Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times and has been associated with its Mumbai edition for more than a decade. Based in Mumbai, Faisal currently covers three major political parties in Maharashtra — Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and NCP (Sharad Pawar). Over the years, he has extensively reported on major political developments, combining investigative insights with in-depth field reporting. His coverage has spanned a wide range of issues, from drought, farmer suicides, major development projects and grassroots challenges to major electoral battles, including three Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections — 2014, 2019 and 2024. Before joining Hindustan Times, he worked with ‘The Asian Age’ and ‘Dainik Bhaskar’. An avid tea enthusiast, he enjoys reading history, Urdu literature and classical poetry. When away from the newsroom, he writes Urdu poetry inspired by human emotions, life's experiences, meaningful reflections and relationships. An amateur photographer, Faisal is passionate about capturing moments that often go unnoticed by the naked eye.Read More