The toll-free call service, launched on April 30, will help patients with non-COVID-19 related issues seek timely medical help at a time when non-emergency OPDs have been suspended by many hospitals, a release from Apollo Hospitals Group said.
Bhopal and Indore are the two districts most seriously hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in Madhya Pradesh.
The Sanjeevani Telehealth Seva project is being executed along with Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (recently merged into IndusInd Bank) under their CSR initiative.
The toll-free number (1800-103-7378) was immediately flooded with queries, receiving over 200 calls within a few hours of being launched.
Over 1,000+ calls have been received till now, with about 9 per cent of them being non-clinical calls and termed generic, it said.
With the COVID-19 outbreak hindering the conventional doctor-patient consultations, a large number of patients have been left in the lurch.
Many patients living with serious conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes need ongoing treatment and regular medical consultation.
Sangita Reddy, joint managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said the doctors will proactively help patients to the best of their abilities.
The tele-health service will offer specialist consultations under nine specialties -- general medicine, gynaecology, dermatology, orthopaedics, endocrinology, ENT, paediatrics, ophthalmology and cardiology. MAS NSK ABMABM