'Family doctor' ready with medical services at villages

Tirupati: After getting good response for the pilot project of the state government's yet another flagship 'Family Doctor programme', it has now been officially launched to get implemented in its true spirit.

The government intended to provide modern medical facilities at the YSR Village Health Clinics in villages itself through this programme which can reduce the misery of people of spending precious time and money going to other places to get treatment.

While the formal launch of the regular programme was done on Thursday, the pilot project has been under implementation since October 21 itself.

The idea was to provide the medical services at the villages to 2,000 people every month by making the 104 vehicle visit its allotted villages covering 439 village health clinics twice in a month.

Apart from other things, the key aspect of the programme was that the patient data is being digitised in the app of Ayshman Bharath digital mission through which the entire health data of people will be readily available online whenever required. For this purpose, 39 mobile medical units (MMUs) vehicles were made available in the district. Also 105 medicines and 14 diagnostic services are made available at the village health clinics.

Though, the family doctor concept was there in the olden days which has changed subsequently as people started approaching specialist doctors for each disease by incurring huge financial burden. In fact, as people are not aware of whom to consult exactly for the disease, they run from one specialist to another which is causing even more burden.

But this family doctor programme will help diagnose the disease primarily and the doctor concerned will provide treatment.

If the disease requires advanced treatment, then the doctor will refer the patient to one of the Aarogyasri network hospitals suggesting whom to contact. This will save the money and time of the patient, observed a physician.

Further, the government is trying to ensure at least two doctors at the PHC level out of whom one will be available there while the other will accompany the mobile medical unit that is touring the villages. Patients hailing the concept that under the programme, the doctor will make visits to bedridden patients and senior citizens who cannot move out. Doctors also opine that surveillance on non-communicable diseases is also possible through this programme which can prevent diseases.