Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led government has signed an MoU with Glocal Healthcare Systems for operation and administration of 102 digital dispensaries across 23 districts of Odisha, namely Angul, Balasore, Baragarh, Koraput, Bolangir, Boudh, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Cuttack, Deogarh, Kendrapara, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Nuapada, Puri, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Sundargarh
Every digital dispensary has a provision for an MBBS doctor consultation through video conference tools. In addition, a pharmacist, laboratory assistant, nurse and support personnel are placed in every dispensary.
The remote districts of Odisha have often faced difficulty in accessing medical assistance, especially for minor ailments. Hence, with this move, the government intends to harness the power of technology to bring the services of an MBBS doctor and provide healthcare to the people.
“We have decided to use technology to bring the services of doctors to the doorsteps of the people in difficult-to-reach areas through digital dispensaries,” said CM Naveen Patnaik. The chief minister also stated that over one lakh people in two districts have already received free healthcare under the initiative.
The dispensaries are supplied with a minimum set of probes like – routine testing of urine, blood, haemoglobin, blood sugar, malaria, dengue, BP, ECG, sPO2, pregnancy detection, etc. and a pharmacy store facility with dispensing of general medicine. All these aids are given free of cost to the people, under “Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana”.