IHL Launches its First Zero Assistance Integrated Digital Health Centre
The first-of-its-kind unique centre will increase access to preventive & primary care
Committed to providing the accessibility of preventive and predictive health screening even to the remotest areas of rural India where even primary healthcare facilities are scarce, today India Health Link Pvt. Ltd., has launched IHL Care Digital Health Centre at Adarsh Nagar, Marar Road, Near Chura Mill in Khagaria, Bihar. It would be the first-of-its-kind zero assistance Integrated Digital Health Centre (DHC) in the remote district of Khagaria, Bihar having over 16 lakh population with almost 47% women inhabited in 306 villages.
“With the launch of IHL Digital Health Centre at Khagaria, Bihar, rural India will see the emergence of ‘Zero manpower assisted self-check Health Centre’ that will not only give a walk-in experience to the villagers who can get their key vitals captured within 5 minutes but also get their unique IHL Health Accounts created, which also integrates with Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) as it is the key to digital healthcare journey. As the patient-doctor ratio in India is abysmally low, i.e., 1:1456 against the WHO recommendation of 1:1000, and so is the ratio of paramedics particularly in rural India wherein due to lack of the healthcare workforce, the primary healthcare is in fiasco,” said Dr Satyender Goel, Founder & CEO, India Health Link (IHL).
“This model will fill the healthcare delivery crisis that rural India badly needs, helping the Aganwadi workers and ANMs to focus on their door-to-door visit programs. The data accumulated on the risk factors of people’s health in their locality through our digital health center could be useful in better planning and implementation of the govt., programs on maternal and child health, women’s health and the prevention of rising Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) because India is sitting on a time-bomb of NCDs and Indians neither prioritize their preventive care nor they do their initial health screening. Hence, in rural areas, many such preventable diseases are not diagnosed early resulting in an increasing burden of disease in the Indian population,” added Dr Goel.
The NCDs burden is equally growing in both urban and rural India. However, in rural India, it’s like a double whammy because the level of health awareness is relatively low, and there is also a great shortage of primary healthcare centres. The available ones lack skilled doctors and paramedics to run the centres efficiently.
IHL Care Digital Health Centre has developed a proprietary ‘hPod’, a self-service ATM size health station. It is capable of screening (20+) essential vital parameters including BP, Temperature, Body Mass Composition, Pulse, SpO2, and ECG, without any paramedical assistance. The hPod will also allow teleconsultation with Apollo TeleHealth Doctors, with seamless integration for telehealth built-in. This will also help villagers to create their own 'Electronic Health Record' and take control of their wellness by getting informed health choices.
“In many rural areas where the doctor-patient ratio is abysmal, and people have to travel long distances for physician consultation, Apollo TeleHealth is at the forefront to overcome the problem of shortage of doctors and specialists in Khagaria,” said Vikram Thaploo, CEO, Apollo TeleHealth.
“I am thrilled to own IHL Care’s Integrated Digital Health Centre that contains the world’s 1st Made in India Health Kiosk (hPOD) having multi-lingual compatibility with (12+) Indian languages with teleconsultation integrated with laboratory and pharmacy. The facility of quick preventive health check-ups for individuals at their convenience will prove to be the boon for preventive healthcare to the people of the rural town – Khagaria,” says Mr Nilesh Kumar, Franchisee Owner, IHL Care Digital Health Center, Khagaria, Bihar.