An information technology-based monitoring system for maternal and child health, assigned to more than 53,000 accredited social health activists (ASHAs) in Rajasthan, has made a significant addition to the statutory right to health given to the people of the State. The new innovation will ensure day-to-day reporting of delivery of health services in the rural areas.
Medical and Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena launched the mobile application for ASHAs here earlier this week, while affirming that it would help strengthen health services related to women and children and lead to an improvement in health indicators. Mr. Meena said the real time information would reduce the delay in the delivery of services and extend benefits to large sections of population.
The pregnancy, child tracking and health services management system (PCTS) will enable ASHAs to reach pregnant and lactating women of their respective areas and give updates about vaccination, sterilisation, antenatal and postnatal care, growth chart of children apart from infant and maternal mortality rates.
National Health Mission’s State Director Jitendra Kumar Soni said the Health Department’s officials could get the progress report through the app by talking directly to any of the ASHAs and auxiliary nurse midwives across the State. The new system was prepared by the National Informatics Centre and the Demographics Section, he said.
Mr. Soni said the ASHAs were earlier facing difficulties in updating the data of health services for pregnant women, status of institutional deliveries and the health status of infants. “Visiting the primary and community health centres and other institutions of their areas led to delays and had the scope for errors. The new system will ensure the availability of real time information,” he said.
The provision for geo-mapping of the nearby hospitals in the app will also help in referring the patients to the institutions where the facilities for their treatment are available, as mandated by the Right to Health Act. The coverage of the app will extend to over 14,800 sub-health centres, 2,655 primary health centres, 46 district hospitals and 141 medical colleges and city dispensaries.
“The new system will ensure the availability of real time information”Jitendra Kumar SoniNational Health Mission’s State Director
