Armed forces veterans to provide online consultations on the ESanjeevani OPD telemedicine platform

A poster advertising the ESanjeevani telemedicine platform.

 

To cope with the surging number of COVID-19 cases, retired doctors from the Armed Forces Medical Services will now be available for online consultation on the ESanjeevani outpatient department (OPD) platform to all citizens. This is an initiative by the armed forces to provide “aid to civil authorities” and offers the “vast experience and expertise of veterans” to a larger clientele who can now “obtain consultation from their homes”.

This service can be availed by any civilian on the website https://esanjeevaniopd.in/.

Developed by the Centre for Development of Advance Computing (C-DAC), Mohali, which works under the aegis of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the ESanjeevani OPD is the flagship telemedicine platform of the Union government and has been successfully providing free consultations to all Indian citizens. However, because of the large number of COVID-19 cases, doctors who normally manage the ESanjeevani OPD have been called away to treat COVID-19 patients. This has led to a substantial shortfall in the doctors needed to provide consultations on the ESanjeevani OPD. Veterans are stepping in to fill this void.

Medical personnel of the armed forces who had retired or taken premature retirement during the last two years were recalled by the Narendra Modi government for work in COVID-19 facilities within proximity of their current places of residence. Other medical officers who had retired from the armed forces earlier were also requested to make their services available for consultation through medical emergency helplines. Doctors from this pool of veterans will now join their fellow civilian doctors to manage the ESanjeevani OPD.

While officials were reluctant to disclose exactly how many veterans had volunteered to come back and lend their expertise and services to help the people needing medical care, they said that it was “already a substantial number, with many more expected to join in in the next few weeks”. They said that because the response from veterans was “very encouraging”, the establishment of a nation-wide Ex-Defence Doctors OPD was being envisaged.