GOOD PROGNOSIS: Telangana Diagnostics Service achieves remarkable feat Premium
The Hindu
This government initiative aimed to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by patients offers ov
This government initiative aimed to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by patients offers over 57 free diagnostic tests
To provide free quality diagnostic services to the poor in the State, the Telangana government had launched the Telangana Diagnostics Service in January 2017. Since then, the service has been used by crores of people across the State.
The initiative was aimed to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by patients, as not all tests were available at government hospitals. Even while getting treated at a State-run hospital, the patient had to undergo diagnostic tests at private labs and that would burn a hole in their pockets, especially those coming from very poor families.
Today, over 57 different types of diagnostic tests are performed for free under the Telangana Diagnostics Service. The samples of patients are collected at lower-level health centres and sent to the central hub for testing. The initial sample load was about 2,000 per day, which was transported to the central hub for testing. Later, the load increased to 8,000 samples per day. With the high volume of work, the central hub in Hyderabad currently operates 24 hours a day for six days a week.
Since its inception in 2017 till October 2022, the diagnostic service has seen a total of 36.20 lakh patients with 68.96 lakh samples being collected and a total of 6.46 crore tests being performed. The government has established about 20 hubs in various districts, with each facility being spread over an area of 2,400 square feet.
The central hub located at the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) in Hyderabad witnesses the highest number in all parameters; 17.50 lakh patients, 36.41 lakh samples and 2.72 crore tests conducted. The other hubs are in Siddipet, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Vikarabad, Nizamabad, Jangaon, Nalgonda, Mahabubabad, Asifabad, Kothagudem, Jagtiyal, Medak, Sircilla, Adilabad, Nirmal, Sangareddy, Mulugu and Gadwal.
The government had rolled out the mobile application of Telangana Diagnostics in May 2022. One can register on the app by filling out basic details like name, mobile, email, Aadhaar number and date of birth.