Implement global health practices after considering

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Friday that India is observing a significant expansion of medical and paramedical institutions wherein global best practices must be implemented after considering local needs. While speaking after inaugurating the 3rd National Conference ‘ERMED Consortium: Digital Health Resources: A reality’ in the presence of Dr (Professor) Atul Goel, DGHS at the National Medical Library (NML), Rajesh Bhushan said that a rapid transition has been taking place, be it from print and manual learning resources to electronic forms, according to news agency PTI report.

Congratulating NML for its expansion efforts and pointed out that the overall library scenario has changed nationally and globally post Covid-19 pandemic, the minister said, “but we must not lose sight of the bigger picture that India is perhaps one of the few countries in the world that is observing significant expansion of medical institutions in the recent times. Hence, we must be careful in adopting global technological practices and take into account our local needs.”

Notably, the National Medical Library’s Electronic Resources in Medicine (NML-ERMED) Consortium is the flagship electronic resources consortium by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the health ministry, wherein access to 228 e-journals are being provided round-the-clock to 71 state and centrally funded government institutions, including the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), the report said.

Additionally, highlighting the presence of a vibrant research community in India and its technological prowess which needs to be further encouraged, the health secretary mentioned about the Co-WIN platform that has been able to robustly serve not just citizens with more than 2 billion vaccine doses recorded digitally, but has been hailed as a global best practice, the statement said.

The health secretary urged the stakeholders to come up with similar digital platforms and create homegrown best practices where Indian methods and solutions dominate the digital spaces, while reiterating the implications of the pandemic on medical teaching and care. Citing examples of electronic ICUs or tele-ICUs and teleconsultations that has become commonplace now, he emphasised that the pandemic has provided the fillip to the ecosystem of digital medical care, the statement said according to the report. LiveMint