New Delhi, May 27 (FN Agency) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday launched ‘Services e-Health Assistance & Tele-consultation (SeHAT) OPD portal through video conferencing for all Defence personnel and veterans. Describing the ‘SeHAT OPD portal’ as a great example of innovation, especially at a time when the nation is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that the portal will help reduce the load on hospitals and patients will be able to get contact-less consultations in an easy and effective manner.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Singh lauded Department of Military Affairs (DMA), Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), Centre for Development of Artificial Computing (C-DAC) Mohali and other organisations involved in the development of this online consultation web portal. The Defence Minister also asked the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) to consider adding specialist doctors to this portal and incorporating the service of delivery of medicines to the homes of the Service personnel. “This will provide additional services and ensure greater convenience to the Armed Forces personnel and suggested that regular feedback of beneficiaries should be obtained for improved delivery of services”, he said.
The portal provides tele-medicine services to the serving Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families. The services can be availed by registering on the website https:ehatopd.in/ with the latest version of this OPD portal with advanced safety features. The trial version was made functional in August 2020. More than 6,500 medical consultations have already been carried on the beta version by service doctors. Commending the role being played by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Armed Forces in the fight against the second COVID-19 wave, Mr Singh made special mention of the COVID hospitals and Oxygen Generation plants being set up by DRDO at many places across the country including Delhi, Lucknow, Gandhinagar and Varanasi as well as the development of 2-DG drug to fight the virus. He also appreciated AFMS for deploying additional medical professionals in COVID hospitals and effectively dealing with the surge in cases, he also lauded Indian Air Force and Navy for working tirelessly to transport oxygen and other critical medical equipment on time from within the country and abroad.