Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday made available its Standard Treatment Workflows (STWs) — three volumes — which contain 11 specialities with 52 diseases on its website and through a mobile application to help physicians in far-flung areas access the document.
The document has been developed by respective subject experts and clinicians and is recommended by National Health Authority for uniform treatment at different hospitals and also for bill claims, explained Dr. Lokesh Sharma, a senior scientist at ICMR. He added that the document can be used as a reference for primary/secondary/tertiary care.
“These STWs provide systematic treatment guidelines of a specific disease, it provides guidance such as when to refer a patient to higher care, which type of test is recommended on the specific disease and also helps to reduce unnecessary lab tests, etc. While not mandatory, these STWs have been recommended by the National Health Authority also,’’ said Dr. Sharma.
Currently while insurance companies are not using these STWs, NHA uses their claim portal to advise the physician. “Overall, we prepared STWs for 124 different conditions. Volume I containing 52, Volume II (exclusive for TB) containing 18 and Volume III containing 54,’’ said Dr. Sharma.
The document aims to make Universal Health Coverage a reality in the country, government of India has started many initiatives, development of Standard Treatment Workflows is a catalytic step in this direction, notes the document.
