Post-COVID complications could be disturbing your mental health, read how this beneficiary received complete support from the helpline
NISHTHA Swasthya Sampark Beneficiary Testimonial
I contracted COVID-19 during the second wave, however, my symptoms were mild. As was the norm prevalent at that time, I had to isolate myself at home in my small village in Palamu district, Jharkhand. Home isolation was challenging as I was away from my family whilst also managing household chores and cooking for myself. Being alone was only making me feel all the sicker. During my isolation, I had severe stomach aches, chest pain, excess sweating, and gastro issues. Due to the lack of doctors in the village, I had spoken to a few doctors whose details I got thru references, however, their medication didn’t work. I felt all the more isolated and it took a toll on my mental health. I then decided to look for COVID-19 care-related helpline numbers when I came across NISHTHA Swasthya Sampark helpline that provided free teleconsultation by a remote doctor. I immediately called the helpline and I was connected to a remote doctor. The doctor queried about my name, address, age, and the health issues I was facing and carried out a thorough diagnosis. The doctor suggested a couple of exercises, asked to drink plenty of water, eat nutritious food and meditate. I began following the doctor’s advice. What amazed me through this entire process was that I received multiple follow-up calls from the NISHTHA Swasthya Sampark helpline checking on my health status and my well-being. Seeing the rising number of infections, deaths of young and old couples with being isolated, I feared for my life. But with this helpline, I was totally relieved and received immense support from the NISHTHA Swasthya Helpline team. It just felt like a family member checking on my health status which helped me recover soon. “I thank all those involved in launching the NISHTHA Swasthya Sampark helpline for this excellent initiative and for helping people in isolation. I feel much better today. They were there for me when I needed emotional support the most”
Remote doctor shares his experience in consulting covid recovered patients suffering from post covid complications.
Dr. Arvind Singh – Working under NISHTHA Swasthya Sampark telemedicine platform
I am a physiotherapist based in Jharkhand and President of Arogya Foundation of India, Dhanbad Bagh. During the second COVID wave, there was a rise in post covid complications amongst recovered patients. To address this issue, we started consulting patients as remote doctors for the NISHTHA Swasthya Sampark helpline – a helpline for post-COVID care. This helpline was launched by the Govt of Jharkhand in partnership with USAID-NISHTHA. I have been working on this helpline for the last 2 months and have attended multiple calls with regards to post- COVID breathing problems, muscular weakness, emotional and physiological problems. Being a physiotherapist, I aim to improve patients’ quality of life and ensure that their lives are back to normal. In these months I have attended to multiple patients calling in with breathing problems & spondylitis issues. For those with breathing problems, I demonstrated breathing exercises virtually, while those with spondylitis issues were shown different yoga exercises and postures. I also attended to patients who suffered facial and hemiparesis (one side body paralyzed) paralysis. These patients were anxious about their health. I showed them specific exercises for their paralysis and also counseled them to boost their confidence. During my follow-up calls with the patients, I received plenty of positive feedback about the helpline. They were satisfied with the helpline’s services. Patients were also happy with the treatment they received. “The NISHTHA Swasthya Sampark helpline has helped many COVID recovered patients who needed constant care during their post covid recovery. I was trained virtually on the features of the app and on connecting with patients through this tech-based platform. I thank all the stakeholders involved in launching this helpline that can help patients who are in dire need of immediate care and treatment”
Neeraj Singh, a resident of the Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh was unwell for a couple of days. He was unable to receive immediate treatment due to lack of doctors in his village. Around this time, Arogya Foundation Of India & Ekal Abhiyan India with the support of Intelehealth launched Ekal Arogya Helpline – A free doctor teleconsultation helpline for COVID-related queries and general illnessesNeeraj shares his experience using the Ekal Arogya helpline and how he has fully recovered with the help of free teleconsultation by a remote doctor without travelling to a far-flung city hospital that saved a lot of his money and travel time.
Covid-19 fears forcing many to give vital treatments a miss: Since the onset of the pandemic, many people have been avoiding crucial medical treatment for the fear of contracting Covid-19 at hospitals. Sudha Singh, a resident of Lucknow went through the same ordeal for one month. She had typhoid symptoms, however she feared visiting the hospital due to contracting COVID19. It was around this time that Arogya Foundation Of India & Ekal Abhiyan India with the support of Intelehealth launched Ekal Arogya Helpline – A free doctor teleconsultation helpline for Covid related and general illness queries. Sudha narrates her experience in using Ekal Arogya helpline and how she has fully recovered with the help of teleconsultation.
This pandemic has affected all strata of society in different ways. Today, as we honor our National Doctors, here is a story of Dr. Manju Gupta who faced huge challenges in getting required medical care for her Covid19 infected family members inspite of having good connections within the medical fraternity and hospitals. Reflecting on her struggles, she empathized with what the rural population would be going through. So she came forward to volunteer as a remote doctor for the Ekal Arogya helpline project to help treat, advice, and care for rural patients in her quest to make a difference!
Punith, a resident of Hassan district in Karnataka was unwell for a couple of days. He was unable to receive immediate treatment due to lockdown in the state due to which travelling to the nearest city hospital 14kms away was difficult. Around this time @arogya_foundation & @ekalabhiyaan with the support of Intelehealth launched Ekal Arogya Helpline – A free doctor teleconsultation helpline for COVID-related queries and general illnesses. Punith narrates his experience using the Ekal Arogya helpline and how he has fully recovered with the help of free teleconsultation by a remote doctor that saved a lot of medical and travel costs as well as travel time.
REMOTE DOCTOR STORIES
I am the National President of Ekal Arogya Yojna and currently serving as a volunteer doctor with Inteleheath on the Ekal Arogya Helpline project. This helpline is a great initiative for people who need consultation on COVID-19, vaccine information and general illnesses in multiple languages. As I am based in Gujarat, I have attended to Hindi, Gujarati and English-speaking callers. I have been volunteering on this project for the past 1 and a half months and have attended around 100 calls. I am attending to patients who have issues related to covid symptoms, post covid care, and vaccine-related information. I have advised patients who showed COVID symptoms to do necessary tests, advised home quarantine patients to move to a hospital for immediate treatment whose oxygen levels had dropped.One of the many calls I attended was from a mother with a 10 months old baby who had heart issues (Atrial Septal Defect). The helpless family narrated their fear and worry about how they ran pillar to post visting multiple hospitals for opinions but they were not satisfied with the doctor’s suggestions. Around the same time, they heard about Ekal Arogya helpline and contacted us. I was the remote doctor attending to this family as they expressed their worry about the baby’s health issues. I comforted them and patiently explained to them the entire diagnosis and suggested that the baby get operated to avoid further complications. I also referred them to municipal hospitals in Patna and Ranchi for the best treatment. The family was convinced and agreed to visit one of the hospitals for further treatment. I will be following up with the family for any further help needed.
Dr. Raghunandan Mehta – National President, Ekal Arogya Yojana (AFI) & Volunteer Doctor, Ekal Arogya Hepline
“I feel satisfied as a doctor when the patient’s family is convinced with my diagnosis and the case moves further. I appreciate the efforts of team Intelehealth for this amazing, innovative doctors app that is helping so many patients at no cost. The app training given to me was flawless and I found it very simple to use. The team has always been there to support me whenever I had any problems in using the app. I also feel that such helplines will help retired and senior doctors who are unable to travel to hospitals and clinics for consultation. They can make use of this helpline from the confines of their homes and attend to patients especially those in the rural areas who need immediate attention and avoid burdening primary and tertiary hospitals”
Dr. Mehta tele-consulting patients via Ekal Arogya Helpline
Intelehealth & Transform Rural India Foundation contributes to the National Health Mission (NHM) by working with the Government to build a successful implementation model and a more user-centered technology for the eSanjeevani telemedicine platform launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW, Government of India). Intelehealth works as an implementation partner to the State Government of Jharkhand for the training of health workers and doctors, mobilization of leadership, community advocacy, monitoring, and evaluation leading to a successful deployment of eSanjeevani in the state.
In addition, we provide technical advice to the tech platform by addition of new features for low bandwidth/offline compatibility, better training of health providers, improved security practices, improved data dashboards, and more reliable system performance. The SoPs and technology developed in this project will be used for national replication of eSanjeevani Platform implementation for amplified impact.
The platform has enabled over 25000 consultations for many health issues faced in rural areas. The project is currently working in five aspirational districts – Khunti, Gumla, Loherdaga, Simdega, and Ranchi.
NEONATAL HEALTH
Jangi Devi’s 2day old baby recovers from rashes post-diagnosis
Jangi Devi, from Gumla district in Jharkhand was distressed when her 2-day old newborn got red rashes all over her body including her face and trunk. So the troubled mother seeking a solution to her baby’s rashes visited the nearby Health & Wellness Centre, which was working under the eSanjeevani telemedicine program. The Community Health Officer (CHO) connected Dr Nalanda Singh via video consultation for a proper diagnosis. Dr Nalanda did an intensive investigation of the case by asking Jengi Devi relevant questions. From her investigation, Dr Nalanda learned that the newborn was being wrapped in a blanket rather than soft warm clothes and would have to continue to do so until certain rituals were completed.
The mother wanted to protect her baby from the rituals but due to family pressure and a rigid mindset of elders, she had to give in to their decision. Dr Nalanda decided to speak to the baby’s grandmother to influence or change this conservative mindset. Dr. Nalanda counseled the baby’s grandmother and explained the health problems it could lead to due to wrapping the baby in a blanket. Dr Nalanda also prescribed some medication but emphasized on ensuring the baby wears soft warm clothes. The grandmother was convinced and followed the doctor’s instructions. In two day’s time, the grandmother herself came back to the HWC with joy and told the CHO that the baby has recovered. She thanked the doctors and CHOs for their selfless efforts and also the counseling provided. The elated baby’s mother attended a campaign against neonatal problems within the village and educated other women about the issue. She also spoke at length on breaking away from a conservative mindset in order to provide a healthy life for the baby. She advocated the importance of eSanjeevani’s telemedicine program within the village that would provide early diagnosis for illnesses, free of cost instead of traveling to city hospitals.
CHILD HEALTH
Beneficiary(small kid in red t-shirt) teleconsulting with a remote doctor at the HWC under the eSanjeevani telemedicine program, Khunti district (Jharkhand)
Poor road connectivity, lack of health facility centres have always been one of the major concerns in rural areas. This makes access to quality healthcare services for villagers difficult. In Khunti district (Jharkhand), a differently-abled child from one of the villages fell from his bed causing an injury on his lips that needed immediate medical attention. The village had no nearby medical facility or doctors for emergency first aid treatment. The mother and the child would have had to travel by bus to a city hospital but unfortunately, the bus that travels to the city once a day was left by then.
However, owing to the implementation of eSanjeevani a telemedicine initiative in the district, the mother could bring the child to the nearest Health and Wellness Centre (HWC) for treatment and immediate care instead of traveling to far-flung city hospitals. The Community Health Officer (CHO) provided first aid to the child and initiated teleconsultation with a remote doctor for a further treatment plan. The remote doctor prescribed necessary medications and the child is on the road to recovery. Telemedicine enables timely, affordable as well as quality healthcare treatment without having to travel long distances resulting in saving of time and money.
Intelehealth & Transform Rural India together have partnered with Govt. of Jharkhand, NHM Jharkhand & CDAC to enable telemedicine services in the underserved communities of the state.
MALARIA
Priya Kumari (right) identity changed at eSanjeevani Health & Wellness Centre, Gumla ,Jharkhand
While appearing for my B Ed exams in a district in Jharkhand, I was running a very high fever. I took a basic paracetamo<
l for a few days but the fever didn’t subside. Worried about my health and the ongoing pandemic, I did a blood test. The reports came in 2 days and I showed them to a local doctor, who diagnosed me with Malaria. She gave me a 3-day injection course and medication. I followed her advice and completed my medication course, but the fever kept recurring. Post my exams, I went back to the same doctor who then asked me to get admitted. I was put on a drip for a couple of days due to increased weakness. I ended up spending so much money on medication and hospitalization, but still, I was not feeling fine.
I then went to my mother’s house which was a little away from where my in-laws were staying. My sister Pratibha Singh who is working as Community Health Officer under the eSanjeevani program asked me to visit the health and wellness centre. So I visited the HWC where a remote doctor teleconsulted me and gave an in depth diagnosis. The doctor prescribed a few medications and in a week’s time, I was feeling much better. The fever had gone and I had a good amount of energy
“I am grateful to the eSanjeevani team for launching this project in rural areas where people have poor access to quality healthcare. In Spite of spending thousands of rupees in traveling to hospitals, medications and OPD’s, I didnt get well whereas at eSanjeevani AB-HWC, not only was the consultation free of cost, but I also recovered in a week’s time”
NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
Rajendra Mahli at eSanjeevani HWC, Jharkhand
Rajendra Mahli from Jharkhand visited the nearest Health & Wellness Centre (HWC) under the eSanjeevani telemedicine program in Gumla district for his COVID-19 vaccination. The Community Health Officer (CHO) at the HWC noted his medical history where he complained of weakness, non- healing ulcers in the axilla (armpit), profuse perspiration, and giddiness. The CHO immediately did a regular sugar test and checked his BP too. His sugar was on the higher side. The CHO identified that the patient needed immediate treatment and referred the case to a remote doctor for proper diagnosis and consultation.
A video consultation with doctor was arranged. The doctor upon checking Rajendra’s medical history advised him to only do the vaccination once his sugar is within a comfortable range. The doctor prescribed a few tests and medications for a month. Rajendra did a thorough test where the results detected the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes. The doctor suggested a diet plan, rigorous exercise, and prescribed medications.
Rajendra visited the HWC after a few days for follow-up and did a test again where his sugar level had come down. He did not complain about the puss that was oozing out from the ulcers or giddiness. He kept coming in for regular follow-ups to the HWC, where he showed gradual improvement and eventually managed to take his vaccination.
Intelehealth & Transform Rural India together have partnered with Govt. of Jharkhand, NHM Jharkhand & CDAC to enable telemedicine services in the underserved communities of the state.
EMPOWERING DOCTORS TO GIVE BACK
Dr. Divya Singh, Medical officer at the Rajendra Institute of Medical College, Ranchi is currently working as a remote doctor under the eSanjeevani-OPD program
I always wanted to be a pediatric doctor. I completed my master’s from Rajendra Institute of Medical College and Hospital, Ranchi and started work as a Medical Officer at the same college, consulting patients and teaching medical students part-time. In 2013 when I was in Delhi for a seminar, I met with an accident that led to paraplegia (injuring the spinal cord that paralyses the lower limbs) which resigned me to a wheelchair for the rest of my life.
This devastated me and I feared for my future. I was on rigorous physiotherapy for a while. As time passed, I always saw a blurred vision of my dream. This helped me stay strong and not give up. I said to myself, my health condition shouldn’t be an excuse in treating patients. Hence, I customized my car at my own expense and travelled to the hospital to treat patients and teach students. It was not easy as I had to make multiple visits to the college office for partial reimbursements, approached the staff to adjust my working schedule roster so on and so forth. The college has been very supportive as I am the only doctor with a special case.
During my spare time, I love reading books and painting. I have written and published my own book ‘Girl with wings on fire’, which is on my struggle post by accident. I hope that it will motivate many people to pursue their dreams inspite of adversities. Over time my passion for teaching grew and treating kids gave me a sense of joy; just being around them and seeing them smile made me happy.
Dr. Divya Singh being helped by college staff into her customised car
Last year, as the pandemic struck and the lockdown was imposed, the college approached the medical staff to get enrolled as doctors for eSanjeevani OPD, Jharkhand. eSanjeevani-OPD is a direct-to-patient app for basic illness, medical and follow-up consultation. This project made my life easier as I could stay home and tele-consult patients. I have been working on this project for the past one year and have consulted almost 3,000 patients with 70% mild cases and 20% tertiary cases that needed special attention were referred to a hospital for further treatment. I not only treated children but also tele-consulted as a general physician and helped the poor with the right diagnosis.
“I am thankful for this project. It has enhanced my confidence and boosted my morale. Working from home has helped increase my productivity and save travel time as I strive to deliver quality consulting services to the needy who are most vulnerable during this pandemic”
Read how Shamina, a domestic violence survivor fulfill her calling by working as a councellor with the Vikalp helpline
I, Shamina, am working with Vikalp Helpline as a counsellor. This helpline provides information & counselling to girls and women facing domestic violence as well as information on sexual and reproductive health. I am a domestic violence survivor. I was beaten by my in-laws a few years into my marriage. I had no support from my family and I was afraid to voice my concerns. I was unaware of any legal recourse possible to combat this abuse. I often wondered how many women like me go through this each day. Since then, I decided I will work for an organization that helps women and young girls raise their voices against sexual harassment and domestic violence. Today under the Vikalp Helpline, I counsel so many young girls and women every day. They share their anguish, emotions and worries. I counsel them to speak out and voice their concerns, provide legal-related information. This helpline has empowered me to help others in every possible way. Many women who I have counselled through our helpline, have called back and shared positive results. I feel so happy that I managed to help them and make them stronger. Talking to these survivors and helping them out gives me a sense of peace and relief that I can fight my own battles.
Initially, we worked offline, maintaining case documents, pulling up old files for follow-ups etc., but with Intelehealth’s support, our work is now hassle-free, we save a lot of time in making notes instead we just feed in the information on the app and can access any document with just a touch of a button or screen. I am grateful to the people who have launched this helpline; it is a dream come true. Today, I am a much stronger woman than ever. I urge survivors of domestic violence and sexual harassment, to call on the helpline (1800-309-4120) and seek support. You are not alone, we are here to listen to you and help you in every possible way.
Shamina spreading awareness about Vikalp Helpline in Udaipur
I am a resident of Parbhani district in Maharashtra. My close relatives were due to take their first vaccination dose but few days before their vaccination, they showed Covid-19 symptoms. On testing, their results came positive. They completed their 14 day quarantine period and were curious to know when it would be possible for them to take their vaccination. I helped them in finding out on the internet, but there were different reports about vaccination post covid. This led to a lot of confusion and they were not sure about getting vaccinated. Around this time we found out about Arogya Sampada, a free teleconsultation helpline launched by Intelehealth for COVID-19 and vaccine related queries. We called the helpline and then we were connected to their remote doctor. The doctor guided us and gave us authentic information where we decided to follow his advice. “We thank Intelehealth and their initiative for setting up this helpline which helped us in connecting with doctors and clearing all out doubts I would recommend citizens to use Intelehealth’s helpline services for authentic information”
Pankaj Ghodke (Resident of Parbhani district, Maharashtra)
The COVID-19 pandemic has put approximately a third of the global population into quarantine and impacted billions of lives around the world.
The World Economic Forum’s UpLink platform has announced its first cohort of COVID innovators, 15 solutions addressing the immediate and long-term challenges of the COVID crisis.
Innovations from 5 continents tackle a range of challenges, from making healthcare and emergency services more accessible, to increasing the inclusivity of the labour market and financial lending systems in the post-COVID era.
UpLink’s COVID Challenges were launched in collaboration with its Impact Partners, the World Health Organization, Goldman Sachs Foundation, 500 Startups, Top Tier Impact, Impact Africa Network, Village Capital, and the Global Education & Leadership Foundation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put one third of the global population into lockdown, brought industries and economies to a standstill and placed immense strain on health systems all over the world. At the same time, worldwide demonstrations and protests have called for equality across society, reduced economic disparities, and greater inclusion.
In recent weeks, UpLink – a digital platform for surfacing and scaling innovations that could solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges – has been sourcing solutions that address the immediate impacts of the pandemic and its long-term consequences, which are much needed but yet often remain unidentified and unsupported.
All solutions submitted on UpLink have been carefully reviewed and assessed by a high-level group of experts from the World Economic Forum’s public health, impact investor, international organisation and civil society networks to elect the first UpLink cohort of 15 innovators.
The World Economic Forum and UpLink will work extensively with this group of innovators over the next months to scale their impact, promote their work on our social media platforms, present them at our events and introduce them to experts and potential funders who can accelerate their ideas.
UpLink is on a mission to surface and accelerate innovators from around the world. Here are the first UpLink COVID cohort who have answered the call:
Intelehealth is a telemedicine and case management platform connecting patients and frontline health providers with remote doctors to deliver high quality health services to last mile populations.
Flare provides the ‘next generation 911’ for the billions of people around the world who do not have access to help during an emergency.
Quartolio streams research insights from millions of medical and scientific documents in real-time to allow researchers to respond accurately to current and future health crisis.
PanaBIOS is a pan-African reopening digital platform to boost the continent’s long-term recovery from the effects of the pandemic by restoring cross-border travel through digital health clearance, building an electronic vaccine registry and a continental disease hotspot early-warning radar.
Elemeno Express is a cloud-based solution that delivers bite-sized information directly to frontline teams on any device, desktop or mobile.
PEGASI is making medical information accessible, clear and useful for clinicians and patients in the developing world, while tracking epidemic and endemic diseases and creating actionable insights that strengthen healthcare systems.
NEO by PhysioQ is a free platform that allows users to monitor the vital signs of family members and friends via affordable wearable devices.
Medixus is a secure, specialist peer-to-peer African medical community that uses an app to centralize medical knowledge to improve clinical decision making and capacity building.
Carbon Health is a primary care provider delivering a premium experience through its modern clinics and virtual care, making world-class healthcare accessible for everyone.
HelloBetter strives to deliver on the promise that mental health is a human right, by making evidence-based mental healthcare universally accessible and providing digital therapeutics for mental health disorders.
Covoucher is Turkey’s first digital voucher platform to support small businesses at the local level during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides them with cash liquidity and financial sustainability, bringing together small business owners and their frequent customers in an online platform.
Mujeres WOW is an AI-based lending and credit scoring platform targeting female entrepreneurs.
JOWOMO helps companies that have been hit by the COVID crisis by providing an online platform that allows the flexible exchange of employees and a socially more efficient distribution of labour.
origintrail provides certified medical equipment needed to prevent and control COVID-19 and future outbreaks. The tool applies accountability to supply chains and prevents the sale of fake goods.
Desolenator helps remote communities build sustainable water resilience in the face of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic by using solar panels to purify water.
Dr. Raghunandan Mehta – National President, Ekal Arogya Yojana (AFI) & Volunteer Doctor, Ekal Arogya Hepline
Dr. Mehta tele-consulting patients via Ekal Arogya Helpline
Shamina spreading awareness about Vikalp Helpline in Udaipur
