E[1] Health Point are model public health units, owned and operated by Health Point Services India (HSI), a for-profit making company launched in 2009.[1] The units provide families in rural villages with clean drinking water, medicines, comprehensive diagnostic tools, and advanced tele-medical services that “bring” a doctor and modern, evidence-based healthcare to their community. The program was initially launched in India and has plans to expand to South America and Africa.[2]

E Health Point provides preventive and curative healthcare services as well as access to drinking water.[citation needed] E Health Point Electronic Medical Records provide knowledge of the health profile of a community and also constitute a real-time disease surveillance capability, alerting local and state health administration on new disease outbreaks. Typically an E Health Point location starts out as a water service, then expands to a clinic as it become established. As of 2011 there were eight clinics and sixteen water points in India.[2]

Safe drinking water

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Water treatment is provided via advanced reverse osmosis and ultra-filtration units, providing clean water for drinking and cooking on a monthly subscription basis as a preventative measure against water-borne diseases. The water units also sell contraceptives and healthcare products.

Tele-medical consultation

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Consultation with qualified doctors and trained health workers is provided via video-conferencing from HealthPoint's urban telemedical centre.[citation needed]

Advanced diagnostics

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Diagnostics are located at each E Health Point clinic. They provide the attending telemedical center doctor with the patient's vital signs—including a digital stethoscope, non-invasive blood pressure monitor, and electrocardiogram (ECG) - and offer more than 70 additional diagnostic tests covering all major infectious diseases and many chronic conditions, including malnutrition, heart disease, and diabetes.

Pharmaceuticals and medicines

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Each E Health Point clinic has a unit of pharmacy that dispenses primarily branded generic medicines, as well as a range of over-the-counter drugs, by a licensed pharmacist.[citation needed]

Referrals

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Referrals to public and private hospitals are made for patient conditions - such as childbirth, acute trauma, heart attack, cancer, and others—which are beyond the primary care treatment scope of the E HealthPoint unit; patients are provided with specific advice and a printed referral.[full citation needed]

Collaborations

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Health Point Services works in collaboration with departments of the Government of Punjab; the Government of Andhra Pradesh. HSI also has partnership with prominent organizations in Water; HealthCare and IT such as Bhati AirTel; Fontus & Aventura Water; Piramal Water; Athenahealth USA, Sensaris USA; Dimagi at Boston; Prognosys; Procter and Gamble (P&G); and Academic & Research Institutions like CEGA – University of California; Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Santa Clara California. HSI also works with the impact groups like Toniic Network; The Social Impact Network; KL Felicitas Foundation; The Eleos Foundation.

Recognitions

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  • Global Winner of the Innovations for Health: Solutions that Cross Borders jointly instituted by the Ashoka Changemakers and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation[citation needed]
  • Recognized as One of 50 Most Innovative Companies - by Technology Review, MIT[2]
  • Winner of the GENPACT NASSCOM Social Innovation Honours 2012
  • Winner of the Tech Award - Nokia Health Award 2011 awarded in the USA
  • Winner of the Sankalp Award 2011for Best Emerging Enterprise in Health, Water & Sanitation Sector
  • Winner of the ‘Saving Lives at Birth: Grand Challenge award’ jointly instituted by USAID, Norwegian Government, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, and The World Bank
  • Finalist at the Piramal Healthcare Awards 2010
  • Health Point Model is a case study at the Harvard Business School (HBS)
  • Global Finalist at the Ashoka Change Makers Award- Making More Health

References

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  1. ^ a b "E Health Point". Center for Health Market Innovations. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Singer, Emily (September 15, 2011). "From No Doctor to E-Doctors in Rural India". Technology Review. MIT. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
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