Five health care ATMs have come up in four states

Five Healthcare ATMs have come up in four states that dispense Medicines based on a prescription unless they refer the patient to a doctor.

• Five Medicine ATMS will come in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh under a health Ministry pilot that merges telemedicine with a basic free drugs programme.
• The ministry is expecting these would tide over the massive deficiency of doctors in the country.

Any Time Medicine:

• These Medicine ATMs will be handled by a multipurpose public health worker (MPHW) or an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) equipped with a multi-parameter patient vital monitor to check the basic health parameters.

How It Works:

• After Successful enrolment the patient has been registered, these indicators would be transmitted to a medical call centre through a GSM-based monitor.
• For starters, basic health parameters such as temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose and blood haemoglobin will be checked and the data instantly transmitted.
• Doctors present in the call centres will examine the patients and prescribe the medicines or advise the patient to refer to a call centre where a doctor is available.
• If the condition is treatable with the prescribed medicine the MPHW worker will assist with the patient in case of referral cases 108 ambulances will be used for the transit to the Centre.
• India’s rural health centres are about 5 to 8% runs without a qualified medical practitioner, these ATMs are meant for such centres. India currently has 0.51 doctors per 1,000 population, half the 1:1,000 ratio recommended by World Health Organization. Rural India’s ratio is 0.63 per 10,000.