Apollo Telehealth provides eye care services to over 2.5 mn people under Andhra Pradesh Govt’s MeEK initiative – ET HealthWorld

New Delhi: Apollo TeleHealth under the collaboration with Andhra Pradesh Government’s Mukhyamantri e-Eye Kendram Initiative(MeEK) has provided eye care services to more than 2.5million people across 115 MoEK (tele-Ophthalmology Centres) located throughout the state of Andhra Pradesh.

As part of this initiative, Apollo Telehealth has performed over 2.4 million refraction tests and analysed more than 900,000 fundus images to identify early indicators of conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, cataracts, macular degeneration, and other eye-related problems for patients.
Under this initiative, they have also delivered more than 1.9 million spectacles for vision correction to patients across Andhra Pradesh.

Commenting on the accomplishment, J Nivas, IAS, Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare, Government of AP said, “The accomplishment is particularly noteworthy since many of these people were residing in remote areas with limited access to all specialties for their health care needs. Over 1.4 lakh potential beneficiaries were referred to higher centres for further treatment. This project has played a vital role in using telemedicine to address healthcare challenges in rural areas.”

“As eye-related illnesses continue to increase in India, there is a growing need for increased awareness and access to high-quality eye care services. Tele-Ophthalmology can play a critical role in extending eye care to remote and underserved communities, offering regular eye exams in rural areas while enhancing the detection and treatment of various eye disorders. For large nation like ours, innovation is the way forward for bringing health care services to every nook and corner, Apollo Hospitals Group is committed to playing our role with various State and Central Governments to add strength in this direction,” said Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group.

Speaking about the program, Vikram Thaploo, CEO, Apollo Telehealth said, “The Apollo tele-Ophthalmology centre is renowned for organising tele-Ophthalmology programs and minimising patient waiting times. Providing “customer delight” to thousands of people presents operational challenges, but we are pleased that we have been able to meet these challenges and deliver excellent outcomes in the rural regions of Andhra Pradesh with timely access to eye care, potentially preventing preventable blindness.”