Several State governments are studying the feasibility of implementing the health financing model advanced by the Chief Minster's Insurance Scheme in Tamil Nadu, Mohan Kameswaran, organising chairman, 63rd Annual Conference of Association of Otolaryngologists of India, said.
The model, particularly unique in financing cochlear implant surgeries for children below the poverty line, is being examined by other States including Maharashtra and Gujarat, he said.
The model will also be discussed at the upcoming conference to be inaugurated in Chennai on January 6.
While the conference has an array of international faculty conducting courses and workshops, the stress is equally on projecting the Indian achievements in ENT surgery, Anirban Biswas, president, Association of Otolaryngologists of India, said.
For instance, the Madras ENT Research Foundation was among the foremost centres performing cochlear implant surgery, he added.
“The work ENT surgeons do in India is no less than the best in the world.” With a focus on the social responsibility component of medicine, the conference will also host a special session on prevention of deafness and another on noise pollution.
Prevention of deafness is a Central government scheme that is being implemented in 11 States, but there is also a role for the ENT professionals, Dr. Biswas added.
The core theme of the conference is “Inner ear and beyond,” signifying the huge expansion in ENT procedures using advanced endoscopic devices, Jacinth Cornelius, organising secretary, said.
There is a village in Dindigul district where every villager is born deaf, and studies are on to establish the reason for the occurrence, he added.
