A big howler for Odisha. When the Modi government's National telemedicine services have crossed over 30 million consultations, the quack therapy seems ruling the roost in the State.
Consider the latest instance, on April 17, a 55-year old man in a village in Mayurbhanj district was injected with a veterinary drug for the ailment of back pain. The prescription was from a fake physician, not a qualified doctor.
This is not a single case in point. Galore are such quack therapies across the State. From Bargarh to Parlakhemundi and Malkangiri to Mayurbhanj, villagers in Odisha get trapped by quacks who rake a moolah putting gullible villagers' life in peril.
Sample the following.
- February 2021: A child in serious condition was admitted to a CHC following treatment by a quack at a village in Kashinagar in Gajapati district
- June 2021: Police arrested 7 persons in Malkangiri district for visiting remote villages and treating tribals by posing themselves as doctors from CHC.
- July 2018: A minor child died due to a wrong injection administered by a fake doctor. Police arrested the quack.
- September 2018: A patient treated for dental problems by a quack died in Bargarh. Fearing police action, the fake doctor attempted suicide.
The list is long. But the nagging factor that lingers on is that quack therapy keeps ticking in the State.
Why Quack-Rise?
The reasons are not far to seek. Under National Health Mission (NHM), the State government receives funds for procuring 104 ambulance services or deploying five mobile medical units (MMUs) in every district, especially tribal and backward districts.
The accessed data available with NHM, Odisha, reveals big. The State had only one 104-type-of-ambulance as of December-end 2021. The 104 ambulances are pressed into service to hold fixed day health services in inaccessible villages.
Not only the 104-ambulance is down here, but the mobile medical units (MMU) free ride also face the bumps.
As per the data available, as of Jan 1, 2021, Odisha had only 9 MMUs to cater to nearly 15 backward districts.
MMU Map - Odisha Vs Neighbours
When Odisha has MMUs in single digits, the count in neighbouring Chhattisgarh has 30 MMUs and Jharkhand has a massive 92. West Bengal has 49 and Andhra Pradesh has 67.
Last year, there were reports that talked about the AP government sending MMUs to Kotia - the disputed village between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Telemedicine Pyramid
The Modi government has set up eSanjeevani - the National Telemedicine Service platform - comprising of two variants namely - doctor to doctor (eSanjeevani- Ayushman Bharat HWC) and patient to doctor (eSanjeevaniOPD) - which provides outpatient services to the citizens in the confines of their homes.
As per the latest data available with Union Health Ministry, the OPD consultations in Odisha stands at 248 (see the table below). For which, the State is ranked 9th from the bottom among the 31 states and UTs.
The eSanjeevani OPD was launched in 2020-21 when the country was in the grip of pandemic. But the table below shows how only a handful of telemedicine consultations took place in the State when treatment by quacks are proving lethal for the villagers in tribal and backward districts.
The table above shows how a developed state like Kerala had recorded over 2.3 lakh OPD consultations during the year 2021.
Why Bottom Dweller?
As per functionaries in Odisha State Medical Association (OSMA), the responsibility of empanelling doctors for the National Telemedicine Service (NTS) lies with the State government. Odisha Health Department has to play a proactive role when the State is plagued with large doctors vacancies.
The district administration of backward and tribal districts can adopt the eSanjeevani OPD to make avail this telemedicine facility to poor and needy ones in the State. Nationally, 600 districts have adopted this NTS.