Team Herald
PANJIM: Director of Health Services Dr Geeta Kakodkar on Friday said that genome sequencing facility started at the North Goa District Hospital, Mapusa, is the first and only laboratory available at the district level across the country.
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“The latest initiative in the wake of Covid-19 is the genome sequencing laboratory at North Goa District Hospital, which is recognised by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and there is no such facility in any district hospital across the country,” Dr Kakodkar said.
Secretary (Health) Arun Kumar Mishra said that the entire 15-lakh odd population of the State will be covered under the Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) by July this year, even as about 3.85 lakh IDs have been generated as on date.
The ABHA Health Identity Card is an initiative of the Centre under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) for establishing a centralised database of health-related data of all Indian citizens. The ABHA IDs can also be self-generated by citizens through a simplified process.
Mishra stated that all health services in the State will be linked to the ABHA and solar panels will be erected at all primary health centres (PHCs) so that the functioning of these centres will not be affected in case of power failure. So far five PHCs across the State have solar panels.
Mishra further said that the high utilisation of telemedicine services in Goa establishes that the State has an efficient model of digital health services in place.
