Tripura Vision Centre
Description
The Tele-ophthalmology project initiative is from Department of Health and Family welfare aimed at offering Primary and Preventive Eye Care services to rural citizens of Tripura adopting advances in medical sciences, bio-medical engineering and its convergence with Information and Communication Technology. Poised with the challenges of inadequate medical facilities and limited eye care specialists in the rural areas, this initiative has overcome all geographical, economic, social barriers earlier faced by the rural citizens and helped them in obtaining quality eye care services from Vision Centers located at their doorsteps. The Vision Centre is a comprehensive model for providing eye care in a decentralized manner located at all 40 block offices of the state. All patients visiting the vision centre are completely examined by the Ophthalmic Assistant and the medical record is uploaded electronically for doctor’s live Tele-consultation from the IGM base Hospital in Agartala. Audio / Video conferencing tools seamlessly integrate with the medical information system in facilitating the Quality consultation process. The medical / glass prescription, and any further follow ups required are scheduled live from the Base Hospital and the directions are given to the patient in the Vision Centre. Network support system of Private peer to peer VPN with minimum of 384Kbps and redundant TSWAN connectivity is established acts as a backbone in exchange of information efficiently.
What we deliver
The project delivers quality eye care services to rural people of Tripura. It controls the needless blindness by screening the patients at a early stage of cataract. The initiative has screened more than 68,000 patients and has offered solution to the Primary & Preventive eye care needs and has prevented major Visual impairment due to refractive errors and detection of cataract and other predominant diseases and initiating medication for the same.
Whom we deliver
The Patients who visit the vision Centre interact with doctor and are able to explain him/her their difficulty. Also, the patient can see the doctor and doctor can view the patient. There is an Ophthalmic Assistant (OA) at each vision centre who acts as a catalyst in this doctor patient interaction.
Why is the project unique?
The project is unique as it is first of its kind in the country particularly in the North Eastern State. The Vision Center is a comprehensive model for providing primary and preventive eye care in a decentralized manner using the benefits of Information and communication technologies (ICT) integrated with the medical eye care solutions. The model empowered trained paramedics or ophthalmic assistants to provide eye care services at the grass root level. The model of vision centre is envisaged by the Vision 2020 – The Right to Sight, a global initiative of International Agency of Prevention of Blindness (IAPB – a global machinery working across the world for the prevention of avoidable blindness).
Roadmap
ICT tools by themselves cannot bring much change to the lives of people but coupled with human interest and attitude change, these ICT tools can bring in lot more positive change to any sector of development like education, health and agriculture. These projects should not be discontinued after the pilot stage but should be made viable business models so that these projects can sustain themselves.
Content
Dr. Sukumar Deb, Deputy Medical Superintendent-IGM Hospital
Department of Health and Family welfare, Govt. of Tripura
Tripura Vision Centre Project, 1st Floor, Office of the Medical Superintend
Agartala, Tripura, India
799001
