Telemedicine Enhanced Arogya (TEA)

TEA provides curative healthcare services for villagers through an open-source digital telemedicine platform by the trained health workers, called Sevikas. Arogya Sevikas are equipped with the Telehealth Telemedicine toolkit, which includes a BP monitor, weight machine, pulse oximeter, thermometer, glucometer, haemoglobin meter, haemoglobin meter strips, glucometer strips, and lancets. A First Aid Kit has been introduced as well, which contains bandages and basic medicines. The Sevikas measure vital signs such as blood pressure, haemoglobin level, blood sugar level, oxygen levels, pulse rate, temperature, weight, and height, using respective instruments provided by AFI, and upload the data on the Telemedicine app. To access the Telemedicine app, the Sevikas are provided with a phone, power bank, phone cover, and screen guard.

If a villager is unwell, the Sevikas record their condition, vitals, and photographs on the app and seek doctor consultations. Doctors review the information and issue prescriptions, which the Sevikas share with the patients, enabling them to obtain the prescribed medicines from local stores.

The key services provided by TEA include health checkups, monitoring vital signs, educating villagers on health conditions, connecting sick patients to remote doctors for consultations, issuing prescriptions for non-serious ailments, and directing more serious cases to nearby credible health centres for affordable or free treatment, particularly at government hospitals and health centres.

Doctors:

AFI doctors along with volunteer doctors provide services through the telemedicine portal. Doctors from the urban areas who are willing to connect via the telemedicine platform provide direct consultation to the patients in the villages. Arogya Foundation of India has a network of such doctors that they have identified. They will ensure that these doctors are trained in Telemedicine and are connected to the Arogya Sevikas.

Selection Criteria for TEA Location:

The selection of the location for the TEA program depends on the sanch where the Arogya Gram has been actively operational for at least six months. The performance of the Sanch is assessed to determine the feasibility of establishing the TEA program there, based on the capacity of the Arogya Sevikas.