Free medical consultation is just a phone call away for people suffering from diabetes, hypertension and eye diseases at Angaluru village of Gudlavalleru mandal in Krishna district.
“We can call anytime in the day to talk to a doctor about any health problem. A doctor responds and gives us advice and suggests what medication to take,” said K. Narayana Rao, a diabetic.
Personal health records
Angaluru was adopted by DesiMD Foundation in association with Amarsai Trust on September 30, 2015, to provide its 4,000 odd residents basic health care to begin with for a year. After the adoption, all the residents were screened to create personal health records (PHRs).
Ever since the people of the village can call a doctor 24X7 to discuss their health problems and get immediate medical advice and follow up.
On March 21, 2016, the organisers conducted the second health camp at the village to review the health of the residents including vital parameter check and complete screening for diabetes, hypertension and eye disorders.
At this health camp, the doctors evaluated the health status of the villagers based on the health profiles and PHRs created last year. Specific screening tests were also conducted at the special camp.
On April 1, a local resource person began recording the vital parameters of the residents after visiting every household. The paramedic will cover the entire population once in three to four months to ensure there were no undiagnosed hypertension, diabetes and eye disorders in the village.
DesiMD Operations Manager G Venkat Rao, talking to The Hindu , said that based on the results of the screening and the constant touch on a daily basis with the patients the organisers aimed to help address and prevent diseases.
The objective of the organisers was to provide convenience based healthcare over telephone and conduct periodical checks right at their homes while identifying all undiagnosed cases in the three categories.
Yet another important objective was to leverage the government healthcare infrastructure by directing the patients to the medical centres concerned be its primary, secondary and tertiary care centres.
“Angaluru patients who need the attention of a doctor are directed to the Gudlavaleru PHC, the secondary medical care centre is the Gudivada Area Hospital and the Tertiary Care centre in the Dr NTR Government General Hospital in Vijayawada. Patients are referred to a private hospital only if they prefer one,” Mr Rao said.
Driving force
Three students of Siddhartha Medical College, now well settled in the United States of America — Ajay Tripuraneni, Rakesh Surapaneni and Satish Potluri — are the driving force behind the programme.
Once the programme which is one of a kind succeeds at Angaluru it would be extended to other villages, Mr Venkat Rao said.
Angaluru was adopted by
DesiMD Foundation in association with Amarsai Trust
