Haryana Government is all set to launch a health model for allowing screening of children across the state, for eye problems.
Proposed to be developed in coordination with Natralya Hospital in south India, the innovative health model will be software driven for which an MoU will be signed soon.
“This is yet another example of how technology is being made to play a greater role in data collection and disease monitoring,” said Amneet P Kumar, Secretary, Health and MD, National Health Mission, Haryana.
Health Department which recently earned accolades from the Central Government for launching an online portal to track high-risk pregnancy cases, is now working on yet another innovative health model which will allow screening of children across the state, for eye problems, she said.
Speaking at Elets Healthcare leaders Forum, organized at Hotel Hyatt here, she said, a number of e-initiatives had been taken by the Health Department in the recent past, making Haryana the first state in the country to do so.
These include using software to make available all data on non-communicable diseases online, said she.
“We are the first to make available data on non-communicable diseases online which will help in real-time monitoring of all patients and diseases across the state,” said Amneet P Kumar.
The use of IT in healthcare is helping the State Government in a big way to tackle challenges and problems. The most glaring example of this is how Maternal and Infant Death Reporting system has helped in bringing down the still birth rate of babies, which was as high as over 20% in remote areas, she added.
“In 2013, 17,833 infant deaths were reported but the number came down to 5,128 in 2018,” she said.
Dr Raj Bahadur, Vice-Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, enumerated how e-evaluation of examination answer papers had brought about accountability and transparency in the system.
“We have introduced e-based examination system which is fool proof–the question paper is transferred online to the designated person in the examination hall just before the exam starts,” said Dr Raj Bahadur.
The programme also included a day-long conference to bring together policy makers, international experts and industry leaders who discussed and deliberated upon various aspects of building a healthier world and find ways how to move forward.
Conducive policies aimed at reaching out to the last mile with healthcare services, importance of technology and innovation for health, challenges and opportunities, were also discussed.