Monday, Aug 19, 2013, 10:08 IST | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
Smitha R
Ability Gujarat, a web-based application, will help people with disabilities get online appointment with doctors.
Soon people with disabilities (PwDs) need not do the rounds of government hospitals time and again to know the availability of a doctor who can examine them and issue a disability certificate.
For, the health department is mulling to provide a facility, where the PwDs can get an online appointment with the concerned doctors.
Speaking about the initiative, commissioner of health, PK Taneja, said that Ability Gujarat, a web-based application, is already in place to effectively deliver services to PwDs. “The service is already a hit. And now, we are planning to provide the online appointment facility to the PwDs. To get a disability certificate, a candidate after filing the registration form, needs to be examined by a doctor.
Many times, candidates are not aware about the time and place.
However, through the new facility, candidates will get to know online the time when a doctor will be available and they can appear for the examination. This will save their time,” said Taneja.
As per the 2001 census, the prevalence of disability in Gujarat is 2.1% and as per the estimate, the state is likely to have at least 12 lakh PwDs. Another official in the health department, who did not wish to be named, said that despite the online facility, those who want to register through manual forms can continue to do so.
“Often in case of obvious disability, a doctor can examine a patient and issue a disability certificate. But in case of multiple disabilities and where the disability is not so obvious, a panel of doctors examines the patients.
Now, the panel may consist of doctors with different specialisation, and a patient may not know when the doctors will be available. Therefore, using this system, patients can get to know about their timings, when each panel of doctors will be available at the hospital. This will save their time and energy,” said the official.
Source: DNA
