'Family physician': Andhra doctors will come calling to your home from Aug 15

Amaravati: Come August 15, Andhra Pradesh will roll out the `family physician' concept to ensure healthcare facilities reach every household in rural areas. Under this program, doctors at Primary Health Care (PHC) will be visiting every village home to check inmates and provide them with required medicines.

The government asked the AP Medical Services Infras Development Corporation (APMSIDC) to keep sufficient equipment and medicines ready for the launch.

Village clinics

"The doctors will be connected to the families through village clinics. Every health record of the patient will be available in village clinics. Once the patient's health condition is checked, their data will be updated", said Principal Secretary (health and family welfare) MT Krishna Babu. Patients will be treated under the Aarogyasri scheme. Under this concept, the medical officer will treat the patients at the PHC level. He will refer the serious cases to district or teaching hospitals or nearby arogyasri network hospitals. Twelve types of primary treatment methods, 14 clinic tests, and 67 varieties of drugs will be available at village clinics.

MMU

Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department is training all the doctors and staff at the primary health care centers (PHC). A doctor along with a nurse will travel to the villages in a mobile medical unit (MMU) vehicle. All the sachivalayam offices located in the villages will have mini health centers on the premises. "Villagers need not always visit the PHC when sick, they can visit the sachivalayam where we will have one doctor, nurse, and ASHA worker", said a Doctor from Vizag agency.

All the doctors under the 'Family Physician' concept will be provided with cell phones. Their phone numbers will be displayed on the board at the sachivalayam offices.