GUWAHATI: A technology platform, Swasthyaa, supported through a software interface for health administrators, medical officers and health workers to track and monitor tuberculosis patients in real time, was launched here on Tuesday.
The software, launched by the director of health services, Assam, R. Bhuyan, has been jointly developed by the State Tuberculosis (TB) Cell and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati.
The project will be implemented in Kamrup (Metro) and Nalbari district on a pilot mode.
“The software will help track dropouts among presumptive TB patients (people having symptoms of TB) referred by health care providers to the designated microscopy centres,” informed N.J. Das, additional director (SP) cum state programme officer, Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP).
Principle investigator of Swasthyaa and associate professor of IIT Guwahati, Keyur Sorathia said the software could be used by health providers from their mobile phones to record information of patients.
Associate professor, IIT-Guwahati, Pratul Kalita, who is also one of the investigators, assured that once phone numbers of the people having symptoms are recorded, they could be motivated to go the health centres by sending audio messages.