Mangalore, Oct 16:'Healthizen' a mobile application developed by the Department of Health and Family Welfare which will help citizens report inadequate facilities and hygiene issues at primary health centres and government hospitals across the state, will be launched on Friday, said Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader.
Briefing mediapersons at a press conference here on Thursday, he said that the citizen-friendly App was not merely a'complaint box' but a system to set things right. So far, such an application does not exist in the country, he said.
The App allows the citizens to click images of irregularities in government hospitals and clinics on mobiles phones and upload it directly on the Healthizen app. It will use real-time imaging and will provide authorities of the health department with the exact location where the image of clicked, he informed.
He said that about 80 percent of inadequacy of basic facilities could be rectified and hygiene could be improved from images/complaints uploaded by citizens.
Mr Khader said that the software, which was developed by the department with the assistance of National Informatics Centre, would also be handed over to the union health minister to be replicated in other states. However, the images will not be available on a public platform, he clarified.
He said that the state government had further decided to undertake computerisation of the entire department.
The app can be downloaded by Android mobile users free of cost from Google Play Store.
Health insurance for APL card holders
Mr Khader announced that a major scheme had been approved by the Cabinet on Thursday which would provide APL card holders with health insurance under the Rajiv Arogya Bhagya.
Under the scheme, 30 percent of the expenses incurred by a patient during surgery in government hospitals will be paid by the patient while 70 percent of the expenses will be reimbursed by the government. In private hospitals, 50 percent of the expenses will be reimbursed by the government, he said, adding that over 100 government and private hospitals in the state had agreed to provide health insurance under the scheme.
He said that the scheme would be implemented in 10 days.
Accident insurance scheme for emergency treatment
In cases of road and traffic accidents, the government will take care of the patients' treatment and provide upto Rs 25,000 as expenses in emergency cases for upto 48 hours. The scheme was approved in the Cabinet today, said Mr Khader.
He said that it was the first time in south Asia that such a scheme had been introduced for emergency treatment in road accidents.
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