Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Unveils Telemedicine Studio at Superspeciality Hospital

The MoU includes plans to install nine cloud-enabled health ATMs along the Vaishno Devi track and the telemedicine studio at Katra.

In a recent development, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) chief executive officer, Anshul Garg, inaugurated a state-of-the-art telemedicine studio at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital (SMVDNSH), Kakryal.

This initiative aims to improve healthcare services for devotees and the local community by offering real-time consultations with doctors along the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage track and specialists at the hospital.

The telemedicine studio is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between SMVDSB, Hewlett Packard Enterprise India Private Limited (HPEIPL), and Hewlett Packard (India) Software Operation Private Limited (HPISO) on April 6, under the guidance of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

The MoU includes plans to install nine cloud-enabled health ATMs along the Vaishno Devi track, in addition to the telemedicine studio at Katra.

The telemedicine studio is designed to facilitate immediate medical consultation for pilgrims on the track, connecting them with specialists at SMVDNSH.

This system will enhance patient care, improve response times during medical emergencies, and ensure pilgrims have access to expert advice without needing immediate referrals to distant facilities.

Free Medical Support for Pilgrims

The Shrine Board also offers free accident insurance coverage of INR 5 Lakh for pilgrims visiting the holy shrine, along with free medical treatment at SMVDNSH for those in need.

Garg emphasized the growing importance of telemedicine in improving healthcare outcomes and its potential to provide timely, expert care to devotees and other patients along the Vaishno Devi route.

He expressed confidence that the new telemedicine services will greatly enhance healthcare delivery on the pilgrimage track.

In a similar development, in June this year, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA), unveiled the "Medical Care Arrangements for Haj Pilgrimage" guidelines.

These guidelines were introduced following a significant death toll during this year's Haj, largely attributed to an extreme heatwave. Saudi Arabia reported over 1,300 fatalities, the majority of whom lacked official permits.

Likewise, in May, the Union government and Uttarakhand announced plans to develop a tech ecosystem linked to the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) to protect Char Dham pilgrims from high-altitude ailments and extreme cold.

The pilgrim monitoring system will create Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs, enabling doctors to access pilgrims' health records during emergencies for timely medical care.