Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announces Ashwin portal & Wonder app for tele-medicine & emergencies

With an aim to strengthen the health sector in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday launched 'Ashwin' portal that is an e-Eanjeevani telemedicine facility. He also launched the 'Wonder App' using which people can locate ambulances in emergencies and otherwise. 

The announcement by Nitish Kumar was part of the 'Satnishchay-2' (seven resolutions) for Bihar under 'Aatmanirbahar' (self-reliant) initiative. He recalled that "We consulted two self-help groups (SHG) back in 2006. Later, we sought help from the World Bank and kicked off Jeevika groups in 44 blocks which have now spread to the whole state." The Bihar Health Department and SHG Jeevika signed a memorandum for setting up 'Jeevika didi ki rasoi' in sub-divisional hospitals of the state. 

The telemedicine service 'Ashwin' is aimed at connecting the health centres that comprise primary healthcare units, community health centres and sub-divisional and district hospitals. The CM added that now remote areas will get more accessibility in terms of doctors and free medicines, through the telemedicine app. 

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Referring to the contribution by Asha workers in the time of Covid-19, Kumar said that they will receive their payments on time with the help of 'Ashwin' portal. He then pointed at the referral transport tracking system that will give patients in remote areas access to any nearest ambulance during an emergency, ANI reported. A user of this application will also be able to locate the ambulance, its occupants and the destination it is headed to. Moreover, the app will also show the details of the driver, so cases where drivers denied arriving at the spots for patients, will be reduced, said Kumar.

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He then hailed the efforts in place by the health department officials and asserted, “With better facilities, a survey from 2018 shows the footfall of patients in hospitals increased to about 10,000. However, there's a lot of scope for work still.” 

He mentioned that the poor spend a lot of money from what they earn to avail themselves health services and fight diseases, but they struggle. In order to address this issue, Kumar said "Measures are being taken to convert the primary health centres to community health centres with the 30-bed facility. Also, the sub-divisional hospitals will have the 75-bed facility,” he hinted.

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