Health on Wheels !

I get sick and i go see the doctor. It’s as simple as that.

Now imagine a hard working daily wage worker getting sick. He won’t even think about seeing a doctor.

Why ?

He cannot afford to; the doctors or the hospital are not accessible; the lack of knowledge about health and it’s importance.

But what if the doctors can come to him, do his basic medical check up at affordable prices. This in essence is what the “Health on Wheels” is about.

Let’s see what the Health on Wheels can offer.

• Physical Exams
• Health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, HIV/AID
• Immunizations, vaccinations
• Preventive health care
• Basic pathological services (Blood, Urine)
• Distribution of medicines, condoms
• X-ray, ultrasound, ECG
• Health Education.

To implement this project, at the minimum we need

• A team of professional doctors.
• A team of medical staff.
• A team of volunteers.
• A van with all the necessary equipment and devices.
• A computer system to track the patients history.
• Medical camps to be conducted at regular frequencies.

So why is that the mobile clinics are not present everywhere, where the hospitals aren’t. The google search returned only a few hits that were worth looking at

http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/Seeking_partners_for_mobile_hospital.html

http://www.indiamart.com/hospitaldesigners/

http://www.tifac.org.in/do/vis/mhosp.htm.

Is it the cost of building the mobile van, is it the cost of operating, is it the problem of finding the team of doctors, the medical staff, the volunteers? Well these are some of the questions that i would like to seek answers to in the next couple of months and hopefully pretty soon the google search could return one more hit.

cheers

Outpatient Management System – Health Care

What is OPMS ?

OPMS stands for Out Patient Management System. As the name suggests, it’s to manage those patients who haven’t found a doctor , haven’t found a hospital where they can be admitted , haven’t found a sponsor who could bear their medical expenses

Why do we need OPMS ?

Let me help you understand a typical scenario
Ramesh, is a daily wage labor. He lives with his two kids and his wife in a village. Suddenly his daughter fell sick and after much deliberation @ the local hospital , he is advised to take her to the city’s big hospital. Now he has an uphill task of

1. Finding an hospital where she could be admitted
2. Finding a doctor who could attend to her
3. Diagnose what the problem is
4. Arrange for appropriate medical facilities
5. Arrange for medical expenses.

Now given that Ramesh is from a rural background , doesn’t know much about how city hospitals work, what paper work needs to be filled out, whom to approach , how to approach.
Now lets talk about the worst case scenario where his daugther needs a major operation. He has even bigger problems of arranging for the cost. Now he doesn’t even know that there are NGO’s , individuals who are generous enough to help him with his cause.

OPMS would like to fill in these gaps

 

No matter how advanced the technology becomes , it is almost useless unless the benefits of it reaches the poor.

Appreciate your comments & suggestions .

cheers