Canara Bank has lent support to Biocon Foundation and OTTET (Orissa Trust of Technical Education) for a unique public private partnership (PPP) with the Odisha government to deliver a novel e- healthcare programme for the underprivileged and rural communities in the state.

An MoU was signed today between Biocon Foundation, Canara Bank and OTTET.

OTTET has been actively engaged in an e-health programme with the Government of Odisha through PPP to provide access to quality healthcare for 51,000 villages in Odisha. Biocon Foundation has joined hands with OTTET to augment and implement a unique mega-ICT based e-health project in the state. The partners through this collaboration will strive to deliver evidence-based health care to effectively deal with primary health and chronic conditions in communities that have poor access to quality healthcare.

Under this PPP, Biocon Foundation & OTTET will set up an electronic diagnostic facility,  an e-health Centre,  managed by local young entrepreneurs, at all the Primary Health Centres (PHC) of the Odisha government.

The young entrepreneur will be provided financial assistance by Canara Bank and will be trained by Biocon Foundation & OTTET to support the medical officer at the PHC for various healthcare and diagnostic services.

Commenting on this unique PPP model, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon said, “We are very pleased to receive support from Canara Bank for enabling our partnership with OTTET to realize the objectives of delivering e-healthcare to the people of Odisha. We aim to strengthen the present public healthcare delivery system in Odisha, by providing solutions around primary & secondary healthcare with effective use of technology. Additionally this unique social entrepreneurship model will result in the creation of real jobs and development of semi-skilled talent in the rural areas. This demonstrates our commitment towards inclusive development by empowering rural communities.”

“The project aims to provide rapid diagnosis, reduce out of pocket expenses and drastically, cut down hospitalization whilst ensuring transparency and accountability for every single patient”, said K. N. Bhagat, managing trustee, OTTET.   

“Canara Bank has always been at the forefront in delivering financial services to underserved communities. The bank’s support to this PPP demonstrates its  commitment to lift communities from  poverty and poor health”, stated R K Dubey, chairman, Canara Bank

This single point, see and treat model of e -health centre is critical to improving the health of rural communities. The e-health centre entrepreneur trained to deliver good quality healthcare services will support the medical officer at the PHC for measuring each patient’s BP, pulse, haemoglobin, & blood sugar. Besides providing diagnostic tests and  telemedicine consultation for  specialist advice. Patient records will be captured on the electronic system allow e easy access to  doctors both at the PHC and at tertiary hospitals.