The ‘e-Sanjeevani’ app reflects the power of India’s digital revolution, with over 10 crore people having benefited from it so far.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has introduced the eSanjeevani OPD app in the 98th episode of his radio talk show ‘Mann ki Baat’ to boost healthcare and help people connect to doctors easily in rural areas. The e-Sanjeevani app is powered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). It is a telemedicine app that facilitates both doctor-to-doctor and doctor-to-patient telecommunication.
The e-Sanjeevani app offers a variety of services to help doctors and patients communicate more effectively. The app allows for patient registration, token generation, queue management, audio-video consultation with a doctor, e-prescription, and SMS and email notifications. It is free to use and fully customizable.
The Prime Minister congratulated all the doctors and patients who used the service, saying it is a living example of how the people of India have made technology a part of their lives. Telemedicine is the delivery of health services from a distance via the internet, which not only increases the reach of health services but also improves their quality while saving time and money. The implementation of e-Sanjeevani in India is said to be the first-of-its-kind in terms of a developing country’s digital transformation in the delivery of health services on a national scale.
During the Covid pandemic, the Union Health Ministry launched the e-Sanjeevani telemedicine services to ensure that health consultations reached people in even the most remote villages. The Union Health Ministry stated at the time of its launch that it was a doctor-to-doctor telemedicine service that would provide general and specialised healthcare in rural areas.
The e-Sanjeevani service connects the beneficiary to a doctor or specialist at the hub, which will be a tertiary healthcare facility. A paramedic or generalist at a health and wellness centre who would serve as the main point of contact.
It enables virtual consultations in real time between doctors and specialists at the hub and the beneficiary via paramedics at the spoke. The e-prescription generated at the session’s end is used to obtain medications.
E-Sanjeevani is comprised of two verticals that serve patients in all states and UTs, successfully establishing a presence in the country’s most remote areas. The first vertical eSanjeevani AB-HWC (Ayushman Bharat – Health and Wellness Centre) aims to bridge the rural-urban digital health divide by providing assisted teleconsultations and ensuring that Ayushman Bharat Scheme beneficiaries can access the benefits to which they are entitled.
Sanjeevani HWC is now available in over 50,000 health and wellness centres across the country. The Prime Minister has stated in the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ that the number of teleconsultants using the e-Sanjeevani app has now surpassed 10 crores. According to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, 100.11 million patients were served at 115,234 Health and Wellness Centres (as spokes) through 15,731 hubs and 1,152 online OPDs staffed by 2,29,057 telemedicine-trained medical specialists and super-specialists. According to Mr Mandaviya, more than 57% of e-Sanjeevani beneficiaries are women, with only about 12% being senior citizens.
The e-Sanjeevani app has transformed the Indian healthcare system. It has given people living in remote areas access to affordable and accessible healthcare, which was especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. The app, with its user-friendly interface and real-time audio and video consultations, has become an indispensable tool for millions of people in India seeking medical advice and treatment.
