Bangalore :  Canara Bank has lent support to Biocon Foundation and OTTET (Orissa Trust of Technical Education) for a unique public private partnership (PPP) with the Odisha government to deliver a novel e- healthcare program for the underprivileged and rural communities in the state.

OTTET has been actively engaged in an e-Health program with the Government of Odisha through PPP to provide access to quality healthcare for 51,000 villages in Odisha. Biocon Foundation has joined hands with OTTET to augment and implement a unique mega-ICT based e-Health project in the state. The partners through this collaboration will strive to deliver evidence-based health care to effectively deal with primary health and chronic conditions in communities that have poor access to quality healthcare.

Under this PPP, Biocon Foundation & OTTET will set up an electronic diagnostic facility,  an e-Health Centre,  managed by local young entrepreneurs, at all the Primary Health Centers (PHC) of the Odisha government.

This young entrepreneur will be provided financial assistance by Canara Bank and will be trained by Biocon Foundation & OTTET to support the medical officer at the PHC for various healthcare and diagnostic services.

An MOU was signed today between Biocon Foundation, Canara Bank and OTTET.

Commenting on this unique PPP model, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon said, “We are very pleased to receive support from Canara Bank for enabling our partnership with OTTET to realize the objectives of delivering e-healthcare to the people of Odisha. We aim to strengthen the present public healthcare delivery system in Odisha, by providing solutions around primary & secondary healthcare with effective use of technology. Additionally this unique social entrepreneurship model will result in the creation of real jobs and development of semi-skilled talent in the rural areas. This demonstrates our commitment towards inclusive development by empowering rural communities.”

OTTET Managing Trustee Mr. K. N. Bhagat  said ” We are committed to creating parity for all through the unity of technology and social entrepreneurship that will deliver Healthcare for all & Services for all. We believe this PPP model will achieve all-round Socio-Economic & National Development.”

He further added “The project aims to provide rapid diagnosis, reduce out of pocket expenses and drastically, cut down hospitalization  whilst ensuring transparency and accountability for every single patient”.

Expressing his delight R. K. Dubey, Chairman, Canara Bank said, “Canara Bank has always been at the forefront in delivering financial services to underserved communities. The bank’s support to this Public Private Partnership demonstrates the bank’s commitment to lifting communities out of poverty and poor health.”

This single point, see and treat model of e -health centre is critical to improving the health of rural communities for whom even reaching a PHC is a major challenge. The e- health centre entrepreneur trained to deliver good quality healthcare services will support the Medical officer at the PHC for the following:

 

a)      Measuring each patient’s vital stats like BP, Pulse, Haemoglobin, & Blood sugar.

b)     Providing diagnostic tests that the doctor prescribes and  requires for accurate diagnosis

c)      Providing telemedicine consultation for patients who require specialist advice

Additionally, this model will focus on getting all the patient records captured on the electronic system which will provide easy access for the treating doctors both at the PHC and at tertiary hospitals.

It will ensure that each patient’s life long medical record is available online thus improving the treatment standards across all health centres. In addition, patient data will be available to the government to study disease patterns and to create a database, which will help implement evidence based health care interventions.

Canara Bank is engaged in banking services, including providing financial services and facilities to the MSME sector in India. Under this scheme the bank will support this path breaking project by providing loans for these entrepreneurs. By doing so the bank is making it possible for thousands of unemployed young people to establish and run their own enterprises.

Thus this PPP project will address the spectrum of health care needs as well as provide employment for a large number of young people.

Soure : Seema Ahuja