New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday launched a countrywide free telemedicine consultation cum drugs facility, a statement said.

The Science and Technology Minister also announced that “JIGYASA”, a student- scientist connect programme will be extended to cover schools in over 700 districts of India within one year.

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The programme jointly executed with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan is currently operational in 170 districts of the country.

Singh said there could not be a better way to observe “SevaSamarpanAbhiyaan” than Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday.

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The countrywide free telemedicine facility will overcome the problems of accessibility, availability and affordability, the minister said.

He said the facility would target the issue of quality of services, doctors and assistance; distance of travelling; and cost of consultation and treatment.

He also added that telemedicine services like SAATH and E-Sanjeevani add a meta-layer to the primary health sector, thus helping upgrade the entire health care system of India.

The telemedicine will not only help the patients save their time and money, but also the doctors who can quickly assist their patients over a call for the same and actively engage in promptly treating patients with major ailments, he said.

To make this possible, the majority of the people living in the country will have to embrace telemedicine services, he added.

Singh said COVID-19 taught lessons and reinforced the need for telemedicine, as doctors across the country were treating only the pandemic and patients with other diseases or ailments could not be attended because physically visiting the hospital was out of bound for them. Here, telemedicine can come in handy and help, he added.

He said in his Lok Sabha Constituency of Udhampur-Kathua-Doda, tele-consultation facility has been established in the district hospital at Kathua with all the panchayats connected with it and it is being monitored on a regular basis.

Singh informed that the focus of “JIGYASA” was on connecting school students and scientists so as to extend student's classroom learning with that of a “very well planned” research laboratory based learning.

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