Finance ministry approves launch of National Health portal

The ambitious National Health Portal, a database proposed by the Union health ministry for storing the medical records of all citizens, has got an approval from the finance ministry.
The proposal will now go to the Union Cabinet for its nod, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Trivedi said here today, while inaugurating 'International Conference on Medical Electronics: Partnering for Access and Affordability' organised by FICCI.
He said the health ministry adopted a three-pronged initiative two years ago to put in place a National Health Portal, a 24-hour, 3-digit National Emergency Media Service Number and an Indian Health Information Network.
The National Health Portal, recommended by the National Knowledge Commission, would make optimum use of technology for establishing a database for the medical records of all citizens and other health related issues.
The portal would put information on standardisation and protocols in the public domain. The effort would also be to ensure that the medical records of all citizens are electronically stored for easy access by pathologists and doctors for diagnosis and treatment of patients.
The Minister lamented that the Health Ministry's proposal for acquiring railway land for setting up diagnostic centres at the 8000-odd railway stations has been hanging fire for the last year and a half. His suggestion that a beginning could be made by taking up 20 pilot projects has also not seen the light of day, he remarked.
Published: Thursday, Jun 2, 2011, 19:08 IST
Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI

Lifestyle diseases afflict rich and poor alike

Cases of hypertension and diabetes exceed malaria and water borne ailments like jaundice, cholera and diarrhoea. An emerging trend of these lifestyle diseases are being recorded in the health camps organised by the civic body.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set up over 37 health camps across the city. In all of these centres, a hike in the number of cases of hypertension and diabetes is being recorded. More number of people are being treated for these diseases than typical monsoon ailments.
Strikingly, such cases are coming from the non-affluentsections of society. To reach out to the masses, majority of the health camps are centered at slums dwellings and similar areas.
“There is a visible trend of such lifestyle diseases at the health camps. Most of the cases are of hypertension amongst the people approaching the health camps. Also there are cases where citizens have been detected with high sugar level. They are provided effective treatments for diabetes,” said Manisha Mhaiskar, additional municipal commissioner (health). Usually, in July monsoon ailments such as malaria, jaundice, cholera and diarrhoea rule the roost. However, till July so far, only 2,271 positive cases of malaria have been registered. The figures stood at 3,637 positive cases in June. While in May there were 4,503 cases. In the last three months, the slide positivity rate (SPR) of the malaria has been linearly declining from 3.2 to 1.6. The figures at the same time last year stood at 17,000. And the SPR stood at a high of 8.
The downswing has been also been recorded in case of water borne ailments. Rajul Patel, health committee chairman too maintained that the cases of the waterborne ailments have also stabilised.
Sporadic cases of unfit water samples are seen from Bhendi Bazaar and Kalbadevi. Mhaiskar stated that cases of malaria and waterborne ailments have decreased due to early intervention and strong vector control exercise-- this helped us reduce the parasitic load of the disease.
This peculiar trend of lifestyle disease at health camps contrast with the stereotypeof lifestyle diseases being restricted to affluent class. “Till now it was accepted that diseases like hypertension and diabetes are most prevalent amongst the affluent. But with such cases of these non-communicable diseases being observed in the health camps, we can no longer restrict these to a specific stratum of society. We are rendering medical services for its effective treatment,” added Mhaiskar.
This financial year, the BMC has allotted additional budget for the lifestyle diseases. “The health camps are helping us reach out to the people. From next month, 24 additional dispensaries will cater to lifestyle diseases. This will not only help us tackle the cases at OPD level but also lower admission rate in the hospitals,” Mhaiskar added.
Published: Monday, Jul 25, 2011, Mumbai | Agency: DNA

Indians most depressed people in the world, says WHO study.

Indians are the world's most depressed people with nearly 36 per cent suffering from Major Depressive Episode (MDE), the cluster of symptoms of depression, according to a WHO-sponsored study.
The study found that people living in wealthier nations like Netherlands, France and the US were less happy and more depressed than those in poorer ones.
Netherlands with an average 33.6 per cent case of MDE came second while France and US were placed on third and fourth positions with 32.3 per cent and 30.9 per cent cases respectively.
In India, around 9 per cent of people reported having an extended period of depression within their lifetime and nearly 36 per cent suffered from MDE.
The average age of depression in India is 31.9 years compared to 18.8 years in China, and 22.7 years in the US.
The study, published in the BMC Medicine journal, is based on interviews of more than 89,000 people in 18 different countries.
One in seven people (15 per cent) in high-income countries is likely to get depression over their lifetime, compared with one in nine (11 per cent) in middle and low-income countries, the study says.
MDE is characterised by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy and poor concentration, besides feeling depressed.
WHO ranks depression as the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide and projects that by 2020, it will be the second leading cause.
Women are twice as likely to suffer depression as men and the loss of a partner, whether from death or divorce, was a main factor, the study reveals.
Depression affects over 120 million people worldwide. It can interfere with a person's ability to work, make relationships difficult, and destroy quality of life. In severe cases it leads to suicide, causing 850,000 deaths a year.
Jul 27, 2011, 18:19 IST | Updated: Wednesday, Jul 27, 2011, 18:39 IST Place: London | Agency: PTI

Finance ministry approves launch of National Health portal .Published: Thursday, Jun 2, 2011, New Delhi | Agency: PTI

The ambitious National Health Portal, a database proposed by the Union health ministry for storing the medical records of all citizens, has got an approval from the finance ministry. The proposal will now go to the Union Cabinet for its nod, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Trivedi said here today, while inaugurating 'International Conference on Medical Electronics: Partnering for Access and Affordability' organised by FICCI. He said the health ministry adopted a three-pronged initiative two years ago to put in place a National Health Portal, a 24-hour, 3-digit National Emergency Media Service Number and an Indian Health Information Network. The National Health Portal, recommended by the National Knowledge Commission, would make optimum use of technology for establishing a database for the medical records of all citizens and other health related issues. The portal would put information on standardisation and protocols in the public domain. The effort would also be to ensure that the medical records of all citizens are electronically stored for easy access by pathologists and doctors for diagnosis and treatment of patients. The Minister lamented that the Health Ministry's proposal for acquiring railway land for setting up diagnostic centres at the 8000-odd railway stations has been hanging fire for the last year and a half. His suggestion that a beginning could be made by taking up 20 pilot projects has also not seen the light of day, he remarked. Read the Complete Article......

Medical negligence victims can now post complaints online

Published: Wednesday, May 25, 2011,
The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has decided to introduce an online complaint platform to help medical negligence victims ensure quick resolution of their issues.
This will be a major relief for patients who were awaiting justice in medical negligence cases. In the past few years, about 598 cases of alleged medical negligence have piled up at the council, waiting to be cleared.
On Saturday, an executive committee was formed with Dr Kishor Taori as president and Dr Avinash Yelikar as vice-president.
Other members of this committee are Dr Shivkumar Utture, Dr Bipin Pandit, Dr Santosh Kadam, Dr Manoj Dehsmukh, Dr Ravi Wankhedkar and Dr SD Nandkar.
“To deliver immediate justice, we are going to introduce a system where medical negligence victim can file his complaint online on our website which will start within a month. After receiving a complaint, we will not delay any procedure. The concerned doctors and complainants will be called to resolve the issue as early as possible,” said Dr Taori.
The committee has the right to suspend a doctors’ license depending on the nature of negligence. Dr Utture said, “Earlier, the MMC working committee used to sit for meetings once in two months. Now, we will call meetings depending on the gravity of the pending cases.”
Original Article

Finance ministry approves launch of National Health portal

Published: Thursday, Jun 2, 2011, 19:08 IST Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI

The ambitious National Health Portal, a database proposed by the Union health ministry for storing the medical records of all citizens, has got an approval from the finance ministry. The proposal will now go to the Union Cabinet for its nod, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Trivedi said here today, while inaugurating 'International Conference on Medical Electronics: Partnering for Access and Affordability' organised by FICCI. He said the health ministry adopted a three-pronged initiative two years ago to put in place a National Health Portal, a 24-hour, 3-digit National Emergency Media Service Number and an Indian Health Information Network. The National Health Portal, recommended by the National Knowledge Commission, would make optimum use of technology for establishing a database for the medical records of all citizens and other health related issues. The portal would put information on standardisation and protocols in the public domain. The effort would also be to ensure that the medical records of all citizens are electronically stored for easy access by pathologists and doctors for diagnosis and treatment of patients. The Minister lamented that the Health Ministry's proposal for acquiring railway land for setting up diagnostic centres at the 8000-odd railway stations has been hanging fire for the last year and a half. His suggestion that a beginning could be made by taking up 20 pilot projects has also not seen the light of day, he remarked.

Read the Complete Article......

Postpartum Family Planning

Postpartum Family Planning (PPFP)

Birth spacing intervals are relatively short in India. Healthy spacing of 3-5 years between births is an effective way to prevent maternal and child mortality and morbidities. Socio-cultural and structural barriers, including limited awareness, socio-cultural norms, and misconceptions need to be addressed for behavior change. Hence the objective was to understand these barriers and accordingly develop separate messages for young women, her husband and her mother-in-law.

Postpartum IUD (PPIUD)

What is this intervention?

• PPIUD is the insertion of an IUD within 10 minutes after expulsion of the placenta by a trained midwife or physician. It is a different technique than interval insertion.

Why is it needed?

• Allows the client to leave the facility with an effective method that can be long-acting, or used for 24-36 months.
• It is cost-effective for the client, who does not need to return to the clinic multiple times for FP.
• It is cost-effective for the provider, who requires only minutes to perform the insertion after delivery and needs fewer instruments than for an interval insertion.