By Our Correspondent
Guwahati, July 26,
With an aim to track and monitor tuberculosis patients in real time, a technology platform supported through a software interface for health administrators, medical officers and
health workers named Swasthyaa was launched by the State health department.
Launching the project, the director of Assam health services Dr R Bhuyan informed that the initiative would help in tracking dropouts among presumptive TB patients (people having symptoms of TB) referred by health care providers to the designated microscopy centers.
Swasthyaa has been jointly developed by the State Tuberculosis Cell and Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and it will be implemented in Kamrup (m) and Nalbari district in a pilot mode. Dr NJ Das, the State program officer of revised national TB control program,
informed that identification of presumptive TB cases through mobile application is first of its kind in India.
Principle investigator of Swasthyaa, Dr Keyur Sorathia disclosed that this application could be used by health providers from their mobile phones to record information of patients. Another associate professor of IIT Guwahati, Dr Pratul Kalita asserted that once phone numbers of the people having symptoms are recorded, it would be easier to motivate them to go health centres with audio messages. Nava Thakuria, secretary Guwahati Press Club, Kaliash Kartik, joint secretary to Assam finance department were also present on the
occasion.
Four city based scribes namely Sivashis Thakur, Sanjoy Ray, Bhabesh Medhi and Utpal Bhawagati were also felicitated by the State TB cell in the meeting for their pragmatic role on spreading public awareness over the menace of tuberculosis.
