Diagnostic mini hubs: All you need to know about free tests, ECGs at Health Centers in Hyderabad

This is a part of eight diagnostic mini hubs to be launched in Hyderabad.

"Here we conduct x-ray, ECG; ultrasound tests and provide reports online. Our goal is to provide all types of medical services to the poor in the state of Telangana completely free of cost," Eatala said.

What is a mini-hub?

Telangana Diagnostics (Free Diagnostic initiative) program is initiated with a view to providing Diagnostic services to all the patients attending the Health facilities in the GHMC area.

It is aimed at conducting diagnostic tests free of cost, reducing out of pocket expenditure (OOPE) on diagnostics, detecting health risks early, reducing delay in treatment, avoiding disease complication, and improving the overall quality of life.

In 2018 the government started the testing facility in Hyderabad on the lines of Hub and Spoke model.

A spoke-hub distribution paradigm is a form of transport topology optimization in which traffic planners organize routes as a series of "spokes" that connect outlying points to a central "hub".

However, the government adopted the model for pathology tests.

Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) was the hub that was connected to 126 spokes i.e. Dawakhanas, PHCs, and UPHCs.

Running successfully since 2018, so far over 10 lakh patients have benefitted from this service. However, out of pocket expenditure for the common man on health continues to be an area of concern.

At a time when the doctors depend a lot on the investigation findings, the significance of diagnostics has become paramount. Telangana Diagnostics project is a first of its kind initiative to provide Quality Diagnostic & Imaging services at free of cost to the public.

To make 8 sample pooling points (UCHCs/ UPHC) as Mini Hubs, the government is providing ECG, Radiology Services in GHMC Limits.

Sample this:

ECG Process flow: Any patient suffering from chest pain visits any health facility (UPHC, UCHC, and Basti Dawakhana) will get registered. DEO will generate a barcode on the referral slip; the patient will be referred to a mini-hub. At the mini-hub, DEO will scan the barcode and get patient details in TD software along with doctor requisition of service. The lab manager will schedule the cases. The radiographer will perform ECG and record findings. It will be sent to the radiologist login after submission of findings. A report will be generated with a digital signature through bidirectional software. The report may be availed from the referred center in their mini-hub login. DEO will get it printed and hand over to the concerned.

Any critical values in ECG will be notified through a message to the STEMI team (it comprises two doctors either physicians or specialists like cardiologists, pulmonologists, or Anesthetists) who will be in charge of treatment and management of patients in the hub and spoke model. Patients are referred to hub hospitals and spoke hospitals depending upon the type of service they offer and the facilities they have. The STEMI programme has been designed with the help of a CLOUD based AI ECG technology connected Telangana diagnostics software. The identified critical patients shifted to Osmania Medical College and NIMS (STEMI HUBs) for further management.