SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, stressed the importance of expanding the availability of online doctor appointments in the healthcare institutions of J&K. He urged health officers to work towards implementing this service for the public within a month.
Dr Mehta made these remarks during the 12th Governing Body meeting of the National Health Mission (NHM), which was attended by Principal Secretary for Jal Shakti, Commissioner Secretary for RDD, Commissioner Secretary for Social Welfare, Secretary for Health, MD of NHM, Principal of GMC Srinagar/Jammu, Director of MCH&I, Director of Health for Kashmir/Jammu, Director of Ayush, and others.
Dr Mehta emphasized that many leading hospitals in the country already offer prior online appointments to patients, and the Department should align its system accordingly to facilitate easier hospital visits. He urged them to adopt the simplest and most efficient available system.
The Chief Secretary also urged the officers to digitize patient history and other legacy data, ensuring round-the-clock accessibility. He highlighted the potential of converging data from healthcare institutions, Anganwadi centres, and educational institutions to create a comprehensive database of individuals’ health details from birth onwards. He urged them to make 100% digitization of health records for all individuals in the UT their objective.
During the meeting, Secretary for Health Bhupinder Kumar and MD of NHM Ayushi Sudan provided a detailed overview of the Department’s functioning, particularly regarding the National Health Mission (NHM) in J&K. They informed that an adequate number of Critical Care Ambulances have been deployed across healthcare facilities in J&K, integrated with the 108 call centre to provide hassle-free services to people 24/7.
It was also reported that the utilization of funds over the past five years, from 2018-19 onwards, has shown progressive growth each year. In 2018-19, out of the available funds amounting to Rs 671.75 Cr, 72% was utilized. This increased to Rs 900.64 Cr in 2022-23, with a remarkable utilization rate of 98.68% for the previous financial year.
The Governing Body discussed NHM’s proposals, including the ratification of the State Programme Implementation Programme (SPIP) for FY 2023-24, procurement of Covid essential diagnostics and drugs, implementation of IT interventions like HMIS (e-SAHAJ) from District Hospitals and CHCs to Tertiary Care Hospitals, as well as maternity leave and other HR-related matters for smooth and efficient mission operations. (KNO)
