NEW DELHI: Only nine per cent population in rural India has availed the Centre’s flagship eSanjeevani telemedicine programme that provides patient-to-doctor consultations, a nationwide survey by an independent think tank has revealed.
The Centre launched the programme in November 2019 with the aim to deliver healthcare services in rural areas and remote communities by leveraging the power of technology.
The survey, which covered 6,478 people in 20 states, found that the reach and availability of telemedicine services are more in the South than in other parts of the country. The survey findings showed that the digital health divide continues to be a major area of concern.
Ninety-one per cent of respondents expressed that they have never availed of telemedicine services for their household members, said the survey conducted by the Development Intelligence Unit (DIU), a collaborative venture between Transform Rural India (TRI) and Sambodhi Research and Communications.
“Despite great efforts by the government for promoting teleconsultation services through eSanjeevani, only 9 per cent of the respondents have utilised telemedicine services. Also, usage of telemedicine services is higher in the southern part,” said the survey, which sheds light on critical and contemporary aspects of the nation’s rural health system.
“During COVID, e-Sanjeevani has shown up as a blessing and since then its acceptance and reach has increased. Instead of its huge success and potential, a large number of people are not using e-Sanjeevani,” said Shyamal Santra, Associate Director and National Lead-Health and Nutrition, TRI.
Till July, the official data of e-sanjeevani dashboard is 139 million consultations.
It found that the North region has the highest percentage of facilities without telemedicine services at 83 per cent, followed by the Eastern region at 81 per cent, central India at 75 per cent, the Northeast at 71 per cent, the Western at 70 per cent, and the South at 46 per cent.
“In the southern region, 25 per cent of the nearby facilities offer telemedicine services, while 29 per cent of the population is unaware of any telemedicine facility available,” the survey found.
However, it found that most people who have used telemedicine services are mainly from healthcare facilities in the North East region, accounting for 70 per cent. The South follows this with 65 per cent, the North with 60 per cent, and the West with 58 per cent.
The survey also looked into how rural people assess teleconsultation services. It found that around 50 per cent of the participants from the Eastern region utilised telemedicine services from their residences.
In contrast, in the Central region, 48 per cent of the respondents accessed these services from health facilities and their homes.
Santra said the main reason behind the service's less acceptability in rural areas is access to the internet and the presence of trained health workers. The availability of smartphones and knowledge to access e-Sanjeevani are the other reasons, especially in areas with low digital literacy.
“For conducting teleconsultation at the backend availability of doctors is essential, which is a challenge for rural India, particularly in central and north-eastern regions,” Santra said.
In accessing healthcare, ‘trust’ plays a critical role; a large segment of the population looks for physical consultation as the only way, he added.
He said the service was able to bring medical consultation to the areas where there is no doctor. But to make it more popular and win people’s trust, it should be supported by drugs, diagnostics, and referral services.