In the past one year, Union Health Ministry has launched over a dozen mobile apps that are meant for prevention and control of diseases such as diabetes and dengue
Telemedicine facility, which is one of the most ambitious plans of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, seems to be undergoing a transient phase with emergence of healthcare mobile apps in the recent past. While mobile-based applications have already done its bit in urban areas, the government is now applying it to help out the rural population of the country.
In the past one year, Union Health Ministry has launched over a dozen mobile apps that range from prevention and control of diseases such as diabetes and dengue to reminding pregnant women of taking their dose of iron tablet on time.
Health Ministry launched Swasth Bharat mobile app for prevention and awareness about non-communicable diseases such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes. ANM (auxiliary nurse midlife) is a village-level female health worker who is the first contact person between the community and the health services. ANMOL allows ANMs to enter and update data for beneficiaries of their jurisdiction. This ensures more prompt entry and updation of data as well as improve the data quality since it will be entered 'at source' by providers of health services themselves.
Similarly, 'E-RaktKosh initiative, enables not only information of the nearest blood bank on a mobile but also of the availability of the particular blood group in a given radius. Yet another famous India Fights Dengue app empowers the community members how to contribute towards prevention of Dengue—the vector borne disease that creates havoc each year in the country.
Interestingly, the most recent app launched by the Union Health Ministry is a stress management mobile application No More Tension that helps users to manage stress. The main objective of 'No More Tension' is to provide information to users regarding stress such as, what is it, its effects, symptoms and management. The application allows the users to measure their stress level and learn various techniques like yoga and meditation to reduce stress from their lives.
"Mobile based applications such as Mera Aspataal (My Hospital) are doing wonders for us. With this app, we can keep a close tab on pregnant women and patients can also be in touch with the ASHAs and hospitals. As there is a deep penetration of mobile network all across India, and almost each and every home has a mobile and internet connection, such apps are helping us to provide better healthcare services in remote areas," said JP Nadda, Union Health Minister.
Mobile apps are perhaps proving more beneficial than telemedicine in rural areas. A latest study published in Indian Journal of Science and Technology has stated that despite various initiatives, telemedicine is starving to find the place in healthcare service sector. The review of various reports and literature reveals that traditional telemedicine practice is passing through transient phase, in which, mobile-based medical applications are replacing traditional practices of healthcare, the study stated.
The study also revealed that the present setup of telemedicine services has various limitations. The average time taken for response from the expert is about three to four days which many a times becomes crucial for the patient. The most effective method of treatment under telemedicine is videoconferencing. It has been observed that due to lack of infrastructure and non-availability of experts, conducting a videoconference is a difficult task.
LAUNCHED APPS
Swasth Bharat mobile app is for prevention and awareness about non-communicable diseases. ANM (auxiliary nurse midlife) is a village-level female health worker which is the first contact person between the community and the health services. E-RaktKosh initiative enables not only information of the nearest blood bank on a mobile but also of the availability of the particular blood group in a given radius. India Fights Dengue app empowers the community members how to contribute towards prevention of Dengue. No More Tension app helps users to manage stress.
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