Saraswathi’s Take on Telehealth at Chhiri Phygital PHC, Vapi, Valsad district, Gujarat
Saraswathi, a seamstress by profession, comes from a family of eight. Her husband works as a labourer in a local company.
Before the introduction of telehealth in the Chhiri and Koparli PHC Phygital about an year ago, Saraswathi and the other villagers had to travel all the way to Silvassa, Chala, and other places. People faced an ordeal meeting the doctors there. They would end up paying ₹400 for two-way travel for treatment at far-away hospitals, an expense quite taxing for the rural mass, even if medicines did come free. Since the Phygital PHCs have started telehealth services, the affordability and accessibility of healthcare have improved their quality of life. Not only the beneficiaries from Chhiri but from Kanchanagar and other neighbouring villages visit the PHC requesting video consultation physicians. Proper medicines for fever, cold, cough, or chronic conditions like BP, heart diseases, gynaecological problems, dermatological issues, etc., are available at the PHC.
Saraswathi’s family has taken the telehealth services of the Chhiri Phygital PHC. She explained how video consultations bring great convenience to all. Doctors listen to their complaints and prescribe medicines. Saraswathi finds the Chhiri PHC GNM very helpful. The sister starts at 9 in the morning and doesn’t take breaks when there’s a crowd. Saraswathi sympathises with her and waits for the queue to reduce before she returns for her medicines.
Saraswathi hopes that telehealth continues to enrichen lives in future and that the PHCs cover more medical specialities. Saraswathi desires that more medicines are stocked and provided for little or no cost so her fellow villagers can continue to benefit from the centres.
The Phygital PHCs is a telehealth project supported by the Bayer Foundation, India, and managed by the Telerad Foundation & RxDx Healthcare. The Phygital PHCs are co-located within government PHCs. It is equipped with the latest IT and Medtech equipment and well stocked with specialist medicines and reagents.
The project has been functioning for nearly a year now. Based on a few beneficiaries’ testimonies on their first-hand experiences, we present the Phygital PHC Impact Story.
Find the youtube video link: https://lnkd.in/gHg64UJz