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‘Tech KID’ on the Roads
By serving in emergency situations with great deal of efficiency, the MMUs mark the beginning of a new age of technology in the healthcare industry By Shally Makin, shally@elets.in
T
echnology has created a buzz in the healthcare industry; it challenges the doctors to keep track of the health of all their patients. The Mobile Medical Unit (MMUs) knocks at your door and delivers medical help, thus making emergency services easily available in all parts of the country. Accessing medical help was never that easy before the introduction of MMU in the country. Such special purpose vehicles plan to make an effort to take healthcare to door step of the public in rural areas, especially in under-served areas; the Government of India has approved mobile medical units at one MMU per district under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
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february / 2012 www.ehealthonline.org
As a part of NRHM’s mission 20052012, provision of a mobile medical unit at district level for improved outreach of services had been suggested. A mobile medical unit is a strategic step in the direction of achieving the aim of having improved healthcare in non-approachable areas.
Need of the Hour India does not have a single system, which can play a major role in managing emergency medical services. There are different emergency numbers in India’s 28 states and seven Union Territories. Hospitals in the country provide different telephone numbers for ambulance services. Clearly, India is in need of proper
emergency medical service that can be accessed from anywhere in the country. The existing fragmented system falls terribly short of meeting the demand. Emergency services department was made an independent entity in 2009, while trauma continues to be one of the major causes of death in India. The Centralised Accidents and Trauma Services (CATS) set up by the Delhi Government in the early 1990s, was then standardised to serve patients in emergencies. Legislation for emergency services in India has often proved to be ineffective in meeting emergencies. There is a need for having a common access number, trained paramedics, gradation