Category: Medicine & Health

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Medical Equipments Medical Updates Medicine & Health

Digital Health ID card for every Indian. 5 key points explained

Digital Health Mission
Digital Health Mission Launch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission to provide a digital Health ID to people which will contain their health records. The nationwide rollout of the digital Health ID coincides with the National Health Authority (NHA) celebrating the third anniversary of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).

Currently, over one lakh unique Health IDs have been created under the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), which was initially launched across six states and Union territories on a pilot basis on 15th August.

Digital health ID: Key things you should know

-Based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, PM-DHM will create a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide-range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal information.

This mission will create interoperability within the digital health ecosystem, similar to the role played by the Unified Payments Interface in revolutionising payments.

– The key components of PM-DHM include a Health ID – unique 14-digit health identification number- for every citizen that will also work as their health account. The national Health ID will be a repository of all health-related information of a person. The health ID will enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent.

-This health account will contain details of every test, every disease, the doctors visited, the medicines taken and the diagnosis. This information will be very useful as it is portable and easily accessible even if the patient shifts to new place and visits a new doctor.

-The Health ID is created by using a person’s basic details and mobile number or Aadhaar number. Personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application, a Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR), and Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR).

-Health ID under NDHM is free of cost and voluntary. According to govt, analysis of health data will lead to better planning, budgeting and implementation for states and health programs, which should be a big cost optimizer.

Citizens will only be a click away from accessing healthcare facilities.

source: https://www.livemint.com/

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COVID-19 Government Guidelines Medicine & Health

India has administered 800 million Covid vaccine doses till now

vaccine
India has administered 800 million Covid vaccine doses till now

India had administered at least 800 million Covid vaccine doses by Sunday, September 19. In another development relating to the vaccine, Global pharma major Pfizer and BioNTech SE said trial results of Covid vaccine showed that it is safe and produced a robust neutralizing antibody response in children aged five to 11 years, and they plan to seek regulatory approvals as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, by 9am on Sunday, 804,372,331 vaccine doses were given across the states and UTs. As many as 8,542,732 doses were administered on the day.

In the 18-45 age group, 325,321,724 people have been given the first dose while 59,105,510 have got their second shot as well.

Among the healthcare workers, 10,368,565 have been given the first dose while 8,723,015 have got their second dose as well. Among the frontline workers, 18,344,648 have got their first dose and 14,480,304 have got their second dose too.

Meanwhile, the country, also the world’s largest vaccine producer, will resume exports and donations of surplus coronavirus vaccines in October after halting them during a devastating surge in domestic infections in April, the Union health minister said on Monday.

Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said more than 300 million vaccine doses would be produced in October and one billion in the last three months of the year.”India will be resuming the export of vaccines… in order to fulfill the commitment of India towards Covax,” Mandaviya said in a statement.

source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/

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COVID-19 Medical Updates Medicine & Health

Arogya Kavacha: Karnataka CM inaugurates 120 Advance Life Support ambulances

Arogya kavach
Arogya Kavacha: Karnataka CM inaugurates 120 Advance Life Support ambulances

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday inaugurated 120 Advance Life Support (ALS) ambulances which have been added under the Arogya Kavacha-108 (Emergency Medical Services) in Bengaluru.

State Health Minister K Sudhakar and other cabinet ministers were also present at the inauguration event.

Speaking on the occasion, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said, “There are about 710 ambulances operating under the Arogya Kavacha-108 scheme and 155 of them are ALS ambulances. All the 120 ambulances flagged off by CM today are ALS ambulances.”

“Ambulance service is an integral part of our healthcare delivery system and plays a vital role in saving lives during emergencies. Our government is committed to expanding its network and enhancing the quality of services,” he said.

The Arogya Kavacha, first introduced in 2008 by then-CM BS Yediyurappa and then-health minister B Sriramulu, will be upgraded.

“We can ensure that an ambulance reaches the patient within 10-15 minutes if technology like GPS and smartphone apps is used. The mapping of hospitals aids in the identification of nearby hospitals while also increasing transparency,” said the health minister.

“Ambulances take nearly 30-45 minutes to reach the patient in metropolitan regions, but much longer in rural ones. We are striving to lower the turnaround time to 10-15 minutes by using technology and boosting the number of ambulances,” he added.

“At the moment, there is one ambulance for every lakh people, and we aim to expand that to one ambulance for every 45,000 to 50,000 people. We also train drivers and paramedics to make the service more user-friendly,” K Sudhakar said.

“We are administering around 3.8 lakh vaccine doses every day. This is more than Russia’s total number of doses administered. We are just a few lakhs away from completing 5 crore doses, and this significant milestone will be achieved soon,” K Sudhakar added.

source: https://www.indiatoday.in/

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COVID-19 Medical Equipments Medical Updates Medicine & Health

‘Made in India’ testing kit for black fungus developed in West Bengal

black fungus
'Made in India' testing kit for black fungus developed in West Bengal
A group of scientists in West Bengal has created the first indigenously developed testing kit to detect mucormycosis or black fungus in patients. These kits will bring down the price of mucormycosis diagnosis from Rs 7,000-8,000 to Rs Rs 1,000.

A group of scientists in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district has developed the first indigenous testing kit to detect mucormycosis or black fungus, a fungal infection that is observed among patients who recovered from Covid-19.

The DiAGSure Mucormycosis Detection Kit has been prepared by the scientists at a laboratory in the South 24 Parganas’ Bakrahat area.

Diagnosis of a black fungus with the available kits costs around Rs 7,000-8000 because they are imported and the new technology will bring down this cost to Rs 1,000, claimed Raja Majumdar, the managing director of GCC Biotech Pvt Ltd, the company that developed the kit.

“The goal is to provide the best quality testing kit at an extremely affordable price. So, that RT-PCR testing of mucormycosis can be done at a faster rate. We are the first and only Indian organization to produce this kit, all other tests are done through foreign kits,” Majumdar told India Today.

As per the company, DiAGSure Mucormycosis Detection Kit was approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Union Ministry of Health, and Family Welfare in 2021.

source: https://www.indiatoday.in/

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COVID-19 Medical Updates Medicine & Health

DCGI approves Hetero’s version of Tocilizumab for treatment of adults hospitalised due to Covid-19

heteroIMGBL
DCGI approves Hetero’s version of Tocilizumab for treatment of adults hospitalised due to Covid-19

Hyderabad-based Hetero announced on Monday it has received Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to use its generic version of the anti-arthritis drug, Tocilizumab, for treatment of adults hospitalized due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), according to news agency ANI. The World Health Organization (WHO), in July, recommended that the drug can be used for critically ill Covid-19 patients.

In a statement, Dr. P Sarathi Reddy, chairman, Hetero Group, said that the approval was “extremely crucial” to ensure supply security in India due to a global shortage of Tocilizumab. “We are pleased with the approval of Hetero’s Tocilizumab. This demonstrates our technical capabilities and commitment towards bringing important therapeutics relevant to Covid-19 care. We will work closely with the government to ensure equitable distribution,” Dr. Reddy noted.

The emergency use approval for TOCIRA, the pharmaceutical firm’s version of Tocilizumab, will ensure that medical practitioners can use it to treat adult Covid-19 patients, who are hospitalized, and require supplemental oxygen, mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (EMO), the company said.

source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/

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COVID-19 Medical Equipments Medicine & Health

PM Modi lauds record 1 crore vaccination doses in single day

vaccination
PM Modi lauds record 1 crore vaccination doses in single day
Earlier today, the ministry of health and family welfare said the cumulative vaccination coverage of India crossed the 61 crore landmark on Thursday.

India on Friday administered a record 1 crore vaccine doses against coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the ministry of health and family welfare announced. Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the record vaccination numbers, saying it is a momentous feat.

“Record vaccination numbers today! Crossing 1 crore is a momentous feat. Kudos to those getting vaccinated and those making the vaccination drive a success,” PM Modi tweeted.

Earlier in the day, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya had said that India administered 90 lakh vaccine doses, adding that the number was expected to increase.

“Congratulations to the citizens as India today administers historic 90 lakh #COVID19 vaccines until now – and still counting!” tweeted Mandaviya.

After Mandaviya’s tweet, the ministry of health and family welfare said in a separate statement that India administered more than 93 lakh doses under its nationwide vaccination drive.

“This is the highest ever vaccination achieved in a single day since the start of our vaccination drive,” the ministry said.

As per the latest provisional report, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has now surpassed the cumulative figure of 62 crores.

Over 83 lakh healthcare workers and more than 1.29 crore frontline workers have been fully vaccinated, according to government data. In the age group of 18-44, over 2.45 crore individuals have been fully vaccinated while about 23.72 crore individuals have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

“The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of Covid-19 vaccination throughout the country,” the health ministry had said in a statement.

India has been reporting less than 50,000 daily new infections for 61 consecutive days now. The health ministry data shows the active caseload currently stands around 3.44 lakh.

India has so far conducted over 51.49 crore cumulative tests and the last 24 hours witnessed a total of 18,24,931 tests being conducted across the country.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/

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COVID-19 Medical Updates Medicine & Health

Govt’s e-Sanjeevani initiative Completes 1 Crore Consultations

eSanjeevani
Health Ministry’s Telemedicine service e-Sanjeevani completes 9 lakh consultations

The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare’s (MoHFW) National Telemedicine Service eSanjeevani has conducted over 1 crore teleconsultations across the country. “That eSanjeevani has been quickly adopted by patients, doctors, and specialists across the country is evident from the fact that it has shown astounding growth of over 1000% in the last 10 months. The National Telemedicine Service which was used for 160,807 teleconsultations in the month of September in 2020 enabled 1,650,822 teleconsultations in the month of July 2021,” MoHFW said in a statement.

It is noteworthy, MoHFW emphasized, that “even when the Internet penetration in the country is below 50%, this innovative digital health initiative of the Union Health Ministry has been able to defeat the tyranny of geography, distance, and time and establish itself as a parallel stream of healthcare services delivery.” eSanjeevani has also alleviated numerous challenges typically linked with healthcare delivery, such as higher costs and fatigue pertaining to seeking an in-person consultation with a doctor besides controlling the ongoing pandemic that had burdened the country’s healthcare infrastructure like never before, it added.

The health ministry had conceptualized the use of telemedicine to aid the implementation of Ayushman Bharat – the world’s largest government-owned health insurance scheme in and Family Welfare, in 2018. Accordingly, eSanjeevani, the flagship telemedicine technology of the government developed by the Mohali branch of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) was customized and eSanjeevaniAB-HWC was rolled out in 2019 as a doctor-to-doctor telemedicine platform. After the Covid-19 pandemic touched Indian shores, and all the OPDs in the country were closed because of the national lockdown, the ministry in sync with the release of Telemedicine Practice Guidelines by the government in March 2020 conceptualized another version of eSanjeevani for patient-to-doctor telemedicine. Accordingly, owing to the coordination between MoHFW and the eSanjeevani team in C-DAC Mohali, eSanjeevaniOPD was developed and deployed rapidly across the country. On 13 April 2020, eSanjeevaniOPD was launched to facilitate the provision of health services for patients in the confines of their homes.

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COVID-19 Medicine & Health

QubeHealth to launch interest-free, pre-approved healthcare credit card

healthcare credit card
QubeHealth to launch interest-free, pre-approved healthcare credit card

QubeHealth, a health tech company focused on mitigating Out-of-Pocket-Expenditure (OoPE), has partnered with OboPay, a global mobile payment solutions company, to launch a 0% interest, collateral-free, pre-approved healthcare credit card for employed Indians and their families.

Chris George, CEO & co-founder of QubeHealth, says, “Employee-Healthcare is now centre-stage conversation for companies across India and HR teams have wanted to provide a comprehensive solution to their team’s families as they navigate their way through the pandemic. By facilitating emergency healthcare funds on tap, at no cost of capital, employees will now have the flexibility to make better healthcare choices and augment any company-paid health insurance.”

According to the statement by the health tech firm, “QubeHealth-Loans Card is a pre-approved ‘interest-free’ credit facility, available to any employed Indian to pay for any healthcare expenses for themselves and their family members across 11,000 hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and other health service providers in India. This covers OPD & IPD expenses, elective procedures (dental, eye, cosmetic, assisted pregnancy & more), as well as pharmacy and any expense not covered in standard health insurance provided by employers.”

India has one of the highest OoPE on healthcare in the world. It stood at $45 billion in 2015-2016, according to the National Health Account Estimates for India, 2018.

OoPE accounts for over 60% of India’s entire healthcare expenditure, with 7 out of 10 Indians not being covered under any health insurance or those with insurance being under-covered.

Powered by a physical and a digital, app-based card, registered users, employees of QubeHealth’s corporate clients, can draw as much money as they need, to instantly pay for any medical emergencies or regular healthcare payments. It is as simple as swiping your credit card, except this is interest-free and the user can pay in equal instalments for up to 24 months.

The product has been rolled out to a select group of 150 large companies employing over 1,50,000 people in India, as part of their employee health benefits program and is activated across 735 towns/cities, as per the statement.

Shailendra Naidu, CEO, OboPay, says, “Our platform enables users to have simple and easy to use interfaces with all the added benefits of speed, safety and security while transacting online and offline. With our technology and market understanding, we are participating in QubeHealth’s vision of providing on-tap access to funds especially during medical emergencies.”

Built on OboPay’s global payment processing capabilities, both companies are focused on providing a friction-free experience to the healthcare spender and are aiming to onboard 100,000 users within the next 6 months, with an average credit line of ₹6 lakh per user.

source: https://www.livemint.com/

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COVID-19 Medical Updates Medicine & Health

IBM provides health facilities to 3 states to fight potential third wave

IBM
IBM provides health facilities to 3 states to fight potential third wave

Technology firm IBM India has provided healthcare facilities like pediatric ICU beds and oxygen concentrators to Karnataka, Haryana and Uttarakhand which would help them tackle a potential third wave of COVID-19, according to senior company official.

The healthcare facilities have been provided as part of IBM India’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative in partnership with the Nasscom Foundation.

Speaking to PTI, IBM India and South Asia Head-CSR Manoj Balachandran said, “While a lot of relief like oxygen cylinders was coming in to address the immediate short term need, we decided to work on mid to long term requirements with the state governments.”

In Karnataka, pediatric ICU beds were provided thinking that children could be a potential risk if there is a third wave as they are not vaccinated, he said.

“All that we are doing now is obviously trying to be prepared for the third wave, hoping against hope that the third wave is not going to be as severe as the earlier one,” he said.

Right now, the focus has been on these three states. But things might change if a third wave hits, as the company will then re-evaluate and look at other states for extending relief, he added.

According to IBM, 45 pediatric ICU beds have been provided to CV Raman General Hospital and Sevashram Hospital in Bengaluru.

The Nasscom Foundation has partnered with Rashtrotthana Parishad to get this high-end equipment installed.

In Uttarakhand, the company has deployed 122 oxygen concentrators and 125 flow meters in Cantonment General Hospital in Dehradun.

In Haryana, it has deployed an oxygen generation plant of 200 LPM (litre per minute) capacity at Faridabad District Hospital and Community Health Centre.

Besides, the company has provided nine ICU beds, four regular hospital beds, five high-flow nasal canula and 191 flow meters to the Faridabad District Hospital and Community Health Centre, he added.

“These current efforts should help in the third wave also,” Balachandran said, adding that reasonable capacity has been created in some of these hospitals to handle the likely third wave.

However, the company is keeping its eyes and ears open to meet the possible demand that may come from hospitals if a third wave hits, he added.

Nasscom Foundation CEO Nidhi Bhasin said, “The whole tech industry responded very fast. It was very overwhelming the way everybody responded, including IBM, during the second wave of the pandemic.”

The focus was on building infrastructure and creating awareness about vaccination. Companies like IBM should come forward and support these kinds of initiatives, she added.

Apart from this initiative being implemented along with Nasscom Foundation, Balachandran said IBM India is engaged in implementing CSR works in areas like education.

source: https://www.business-standard.com/

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Medical Updates Medicine & Health

75th Independence Day: 5 ways to free your mind from stress

stress
75th Independence Day: 5 ways to free your mind from stress

The nation will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day tomorrow, August 15, 2021. On this day, we got freedom from British rule in India and it is a day of immense significance for us. Freedom is the power or right to do what you want without anyone stopping you, as per Oxford dictionary. When this power is snatched from us due to some reason, we feel trapped or stressed. Difficult situations in life that seem out of control may make us feel that way.

Coronavirus pandemic has made stress a constant in our lives. Freeing your mind from stress is a choice that one must make every day irrespective of the situation. If there is any resolution you should take on 75th Independence Day, it must be to say no to stress or free your mind from it.

1. Prioritise right

Over the time, if stress keeps getting accumulated, it plays havoc with our health. It’s better to nip it in the bud. Do things that are urgent and leave those that are not so important and burdening you unnecessarily. Prioritising right can take away a lot of stress that is the need of the hour.

“A lot of time we neglect our stress till the time it starts affecting us. We should address it when it is at a preventive stage. The first strategy to deal with it is to avoid stress that is not important for you,” says Dr. Arushi Malik, Counselling Psychologist, Kaleidoscope – a unit of Dr. Bakshi’s Healthcare.

2. Set your boundaries

Sometimes we think avoiding or saying no is a bad thing. But to take care and manage your stress, it is important to say no when it gets too much. “Human mind has this capability that it adapts to the situation around. One must try to overcome the thing that is stressing you out in a healthy manner. Acknowledge stress in its early stages and try to work around it,” advises Dr. Malik.

She also adds that in pandemic times, there are some things that are under our control and those that are not. “It’s important to accept the way certain things are and adapt to them accordingly,” she adds.

3. Seek help

Most importantly, do not shy away in connecting with others and seeking help. If the stress is getting unmanageable and seeping into other domains of life and impacting relationships with others, it is okay to talk about it. One must not isolate self and instead of virtual world, connect with the real world, according to Dr. Malik.

4. Do activities to soothe your mind

A lot of times it happens that stress makes you very fidgety and you are not able to focus on the task at hand.

It happens because our brain imagines the worst-case scenario. We get very jumpy and don’t focus on the moment.

Doing activities that get your composure back can be very helpful. “Doing zentangle is a fun way to draw patterns and the process is quite soothing to mind. Mandala books or colouring books for adults are also becoming popular and are very effective in soothing your mind and managing your stress,” says Dr. Malik.

These activities allow us to focus on the present moment and realise that things are not that stressful and can be managed.

5. Eating healthy and doing physical activities

Good nutrition and intake of balanced diet is important for mental health. Green leafy vegetables, fresh and seasonal fruits, nuts & legumes are rich in vitamins, anti-oxidants and other essential nutrients that help in repairing body cells and protect our brain. Brisk walking or any sort of physical activity help in alleviating symptoms of anxiety, depression, social withdrawal etc.

So this Independence Day, let’s take a resolve to kick out stress from our life and breathe.

source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/