Free treatment to TB patients

November 9, 2015 Innovation Valli Sarvani No comments

Tuberculosis is a very dangerous disease destroying the lives of many people in India. Its treatment is hard to reach many poor people in India. The disease requires constant medication. It becomes tough for many poor people to follow the regimen.

Thanks to a mobile technology, many TB patients have received free treatment right at their door step. eCompliance is the technology which helped take the medication to the doorsteps of poor patients. As of now, OpASHA has used this technology to reach out to 9,000 TB patients in 5 countries around the world.

Operation ASHA is an organization which is aimed at eradicating TB and giving assistance to patients in disadvantaged communities.

The operation was started by Dr. Shelly Batra and former government official Sandeep Ahuja in 2006. It aims to reach TB patients who lack the proper access to medical services due to various reasons.

Dr. Shelly has previous experience working those who are financially weak. She has worked with such communities and was providing free treatment to patients who were unable to afford important procedures which could save lives.

After learning more about the lives of TB patients, she became sure that these patients needed her attention more and that they needed some intervention. She said that she realized poor people could not access at private hospitals as they are not able to afford such expensive treatment. On the other hand, government hospitals did not good services.

TB treatment centers have been set up by OpASHA. So far they have managed to reach 6.5 million TB patients across nine states of India which are: India, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Haryana.

Its mobile technology is now helping more TB patients get regular medical intervention. Patients are identified with the help of questionnaire by health workers and proper action is being taken.