Bangalore: Dial-a-doctor Soon to be Reality
Bangalore, Jun 3 (Bangalore Mirror): Quick! What do I do to stop my nose from bleeding? Soon, that kind of information will be at your fingertips with the government planning to set up a 24X7 Health Information Helpline (HIHL).
The initiative, said to be Health Minister B Sriramulu’s dream project, will have senior doctors on call for free so that patients don’t have to cough up huge amounts at private clinics even for common ailments.
“This is one of our dream projects,” said Sriramulu. “We are glad that the day has come when patients need not run from pillar to post looking for a good doctor. Through 108 (emergency ambulance service), 104 (mobile health labs for rural folk) and the soon-to-start call centre, we plan to provide health services to people throughout Karnataka round the clock.”
A first, the 50-seater HIHL will provide doctor’s advice and government services including 108, free of cost.
How it will help
The service, to be launched in a few months, will help those who do not wish to see a doctor but need his help all the same, said Dr H Sathish, Medical Superintendent, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. As a result, the burden on out-patient departments in government hospitals will be reduced.
However, while this will help those with primary ailments, it is only the hospital that can give better treatment in complicated cases, said Dr B G Tilak, Medical Superintendent, Victoria Hospital.
Another important aim of the service is to put an end to the dangerous practice of self-medication and to stop exploitation by quacks and chemists who push through substandard drugs.
How the helpline will work
The helpline aims to connect doctors and patients and will function from Bangalore. The call centre will operate on three levels. First, staff will register the calls received and generate a specific ID.
At the second level, calls are transferred to the Health Advisor Officer (HAO), a trained HIHL paramedical staff. The HAO will analyse the caller’s complaint and advise accordingly. Only general ailments like fever, cough and cold etc are addressed at this stage.
Complicated cases are transferred to the next level which has senior medical officers in place. Complaints flash on the doctor’s screen. He either prescribes medicines or directs the patient to the nearest health facility. However, emergency calls are diverted directly from the registering counter to the third level which in turn will direct 108.
Multi-functional centre
The HIHL will be a multi-functional unit where one can also complain about flaws in health centres. These could range from a doctor demanding bribe to infrastructure woes. The centre will also serve as a counselling centre, especially for HIV+ patients and those with sexually transmitted diseases since the maximum calls come from this group.