The highest number of 930 consultations have been made in Tirupur, while about 601 people chose to consult medical professionals through online consultation in Chennai alone. As many as 360 people have used the e-consultation platform in Chengalpattu, while about 325 consultations have been made in Virudhunagar.

In view of the increasing number of COVID cases, the service was launched to offer free consultations with medical professionals through the website, www.esanjeevaniopd.in. The platform also offers e-prescription to patients and involves video conferencing between patients and doctors, who are associated with the programme.

As per the eSanjeevani OPD service performance report by National Health Mission, Tamil Nadu, a total of 5,461 people have consulted medical professionals through the service, which is highest among the other states in the country. About 5,053 people have used the platform for telemedicine consultations in Kerala and about 3,386 people utilised it in Andhra Pradesh.

Senior officials with National Health Mission said that as many as 400-500 patients consult doctors on a daily basis in Tamil Nadu. "e-consultations prevent overcrowding at government hospitals during the time of the pandemic. The contactless prescription also helps them get the right medications without the risk of contracting COVID-19," said the official.

"There has been an amendment made by Drug Controller of India to enable the purchase of medicines by e-mailing the digitally signed e-prescription to the nearby medical shops. The initiative has been very helpful in Tamil Nadu so far. This initiative can go a long way and prove beneficial for the patients," said Dr K Senthil Raj, mission director, National Health Mission, Tamil Nadu.