Bengaluru: In a major development, defence minister Rajnath Singh has launched ‘Services e-Health Assistance & Tele-consultation (SeHAT) OPD portal. The portal provides tele-medicine services to the serving armed forces personnel, veterans and their families. This is the final version of the SeHAT OPD portal with advanced safety features. The trial version was made functional in August 2020. More than 6,500 medical consultations have already been carried on the beta version by service doctors, as per a statement by ministry of defence 

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Rajnath Singh lauded department of military affairs (DMA), Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), Centre for Development of Artificial Computing (C-DAC) Mohali and other organisations involved in the development of the portal, saying that it reflects the government’s commitment to 'Digital India' and 'e-governance'. 

“It has always been our endeavor to provide better, faster and transparent facilities to our countrymen,” he underlined. 

Going a step further, he described SeHAT OPD portal as a great example of innovation, especially at a time when the nation is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. He said, the portal will help reduce the load on hospitals and patients will be able to get contactless consultations in an easy and effective manner.

He also urged the AFMS to consider adding specialist doctors to this portal and incorporating the service of delivery of medicines to the homes of the service personnel. This will provide additional services and ensure greater convenience to the armed forces personnel, he said. 

Commending the role being played by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the armed forces in the fight against the second COVID-19 wave, he made special mention of the COVID hospitals and Oxygen Generation plants being set up by DRDO at many places across the country including Delhi, Lucknow, Gandhinagar & Varanasi as well as the development of 2-DG drug to fight the virus. He also appreciated AFMS for deploying additional medical professionals in COVID hospitals and effectively dealing with the surge in cases.