Government approves Ayushman Bharat – world’s largest government-funded healthcare scheme
The Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), dubbed as Modicare, is touted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as the world’s largest healthcare programme. It is estimated to cost about Rs12,000 crore annually.
To be rolled out in collaboration with the state governments, “Modicare” is expected to reduce Out Of Pocket (OOP) expenditure—the in-patient hospitalization expenditure in India has increased nearly 300% during last 10 years according to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) 2015. Currently, OOP expenditure in India is over 60%, causing impoverishment to nearly 6 million families coping with catastrophic health expenditures.
Ayushman Bharat is one of the big new ideas floated by the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which they believe could be a potential game changer in the upcoming electoral battles, including the general election due early next year.
The ambitious healthcare scheme will be covering almost all secondary and many tertiary hospitalizations with coverage of Rs5 lakh for each family. AB-NHPM will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) that offers a cover of Rs30,000 and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) that offers up to Rs30,000/- per annum per senior citizen.
In a separate decision giving to boost to healthcare in India, the cabinet also approved continuation of the National Health Mission (NHM)—with effect from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2020—with a budgetary support of Rs85,217 crore as central share over this period.
The National Health Mission will be the main vehicle for the Universal Health Coverage and will focus on strengthening the public health systems, particularly in high priority districts that include aspirational districts. The salient features of the NHM will be a shift from selective to comprehensive primary healthcare that includes care for common non-communicable diseases, geriatric healthcare, palliative care and rehabilitative care services, etc., through strengthening of the sub centres and primary health centres as Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs).
The NHM will complement AB-NHPM, by reducing OOP expenditure through intensification of initiatives such as NHM Free Drugs and Diagnostics Services Initiatives, Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme.
The cabinet also approved amendments in The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, in a bid to improve its regulation. The bill proposes to regulate surrogacy in India by establishing National Surrogacy Board at the central level and, state surrogacy boards and appropriate authorities in the states and union territories. The proposed legislation ensures effective regulation of surrogacy, prohibit commercial surrogacy and permit altruistic surrogacy to the needy Indian infertile couples.
In other decisions, the cabinet also approved the second and final extension of the term of the Commission constituted to examine the issue of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the central list, beyond 27 March 2018 for a period of twelve weeks, i.e. up to 20 June 2018.
Source: https://www.livemint.com/Politics/khSfHy9nMLY4lqW8m6UkUN/Modi-govt-launches-Ayushman-Bharat-healthcare-scheme.html
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A new way to lose fat. Freezing this nerve can kindle weight loss
Turns out, freezing a nerve can ignite weight loss.
According to a study led by the Society of Interventional Radiology, freezing the nerve that carries hunger signals to the brain may help mild-to-moderate obese patients lose weight. The treatment was determined safe and feasible in the initial pilot phase.
“We developed this treatment for patients with mild-to-moderate obesity to reduce the attrition that is common with weight-loss efforts,” said David Prologo, lead author of the study. “We are trying to help people succeed with their own attempts to lose weight.”
This nerve, located at the base of the esophagus, is one of several mechanisms that tell the brain the stomach is empty. In the study, 10 subjects with a BMI between 30 and 37 underwent the procedure and were followed for 90 days.
During the procedure, an interventional radiologist inserts a needle through the patient’s back and, guided by live images from a CT scan, uses argon gas to freeze the nerve, known as the posterior vagal trunk.
This nerve, located at the base of the esophagus, is one of several mechanisms that tell the brain that the stomach is empty. In the study, 10 subjects with a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 30 and 37 underwent the procedure and were followed for 90 days. All subjects reported decreased appetite and the overall average weight loss was 3.6% of initial body weight and an average decline of nearly 14% of the excess BMI.
No procedure-related complications were reported, and there were no adverse events during the follow up.
“Medical literature shows the vast majority of weight-loss programs fail, especially when people attempt to reduce their food intake,” said Prologo. “When our stomachs are empty, the body senses this and switches to food-seeking survival mode. We’re not trying to eliminate this biological response, only reduce the strength of this signal to the brain to provide a new, sustainable solution to the difficult problem of treating mild obesity.”
Following the success of this preliminary safety and feasibility study, more patients are being recruited for a larger clinical trial of the procedure to test the efficacy and durability of the procedure.
In presenting the study, the authors noted several limitations, including the small sample size and the interim nature of the results. The findings from the study are presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/a-new-way-to-lose-fat-freezing-this-nerve-can-kindle-weight-loss/story-i1L9ztAKdggAIW3b1W70bI.html
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Jail term for doctors, chemists if they don’t report TB
A week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to wipe out tuberculosis (TB) from India by 2025, the government has announced stringent steps including jail terms for doctors, hospital staff and chemists if they fail to report TB cases.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a notification said clinical establishments (hospitals and clinics in all recognised systems of medicine), doctors, chemists and druggists “shall notify every tuberculosis patient to local public health authority” in a prescribed format.
The Health Ministry has introduced provision for jail terms of up to two years if the major stakeholders in the fight against TB fail to report such cases to the nodal officer and if the health staff fail to take appropriate action on getting the information.
“The Clinical Establishment, Pharmacy, Chemist and Druggist, failing to notify a tuberculosis patient to the nodal officer … and local public health staff of general health system of rural or urban local bodies, not taking appropriate public health action on receiving tuberculosis patient notification … may attract the provisions of sections 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860),” said the Health Ministry.
Section 269 relates to “Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life”, and provides for imprisonment of up to six months or fine, or both. And Section 270 on “Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life” has provision for jail term of up to two years or fine, or both.
The ministry said tuberculosis is a dangerous epidemic disease, threat to life and is a major public health problem accounting for substantial morbidity and mortality in the country. Early diagnosis and complete treatment is the corner-stone of TB prevention and control strategy.
“To ensure proper TB diagnosis and its management in patients and their contacts and to reduce TB transmission and further to address the problems of emergence and spread of Drug Resistant-Tuberculosis, it is essential to collect complete information of all TB patients,” it said.
The notification further said that a secure web portal would be made available by the Central Tuberculosis Division to all practitioners, clinical establishments, pharmacies, chemists, druggists and patients for online submission of information.
“For TB patients notified from medical laboratory, chemist and self-notification by tuberculosis patients, staff of public health system will gather information to complete notification which include basis of diagnosis, site of disease, history of anti-tubercular treatment and classify type of TB patient,” the ministry added.
Source: http://www.healthpost.in/news/Jail-term-for-doctors–chemists-if-they-don-t-report-TB-761
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Soon, walk around freely while getting your brain scanned – Here’s how
You may soon be able to get a brain scan and move around at the same time. A lightweight, highly sensitive brain imaging device has been developed by British scientists that can be worn as a helmet, thereby allowing the patient to move about naturally.
Test results of the scanner showed that patients were able to stretch, nod, and even drink tea and play table tennis – all this while their brain activity was being recorded, millisecond by millisecond, by the magnetoencephalography (MEG) system.
Researchers said they hoped the new scanner would improve research and treatment for patients who can’t use traditional fixed MEG scanners, such as children with epilepsy, babies, or patients with disorders like Parkinson’s disease.
“This has the potential to revolutionize the brain imaging field, and transform the scientific and clinical questions that can be addressed with human brain imaging,” said Gareth Barnes, a professor at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging at University College London, who co-led the work.
They also run into difficulties when patients are unable to stay very still – very young children or patients with movement disorders for example – since even a 5-millimeter movement can mean the images are unusable.
Researchers, by using quantum sensors in the helmet scanner, overcame these issues, since these sensors are lightweight, work at room temperature and can be placed directly onto scalp – increasing the amount of signal they are able to pick up.
Matt Brookes, who worked with Barnes and built the prototype at Nottingham University, said that as well as overcoming the challenge of some patients being unable to stay still, the wearable scanner offers new possibilities in measuring peoples’ brain function during real-world tasks and social interactions.
“This has significant potential for impact on our understanding of not only healthy brain function but also on a range of neurological, neurodegenerative and mental health conditions.”
Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/soon-walk-around-freely-while-getting-your-brain-scanned-heres-how-2092602
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Interstitium: The latest organ discovered in human body. All you need to know
Scientists have discovered a new organ in the human body which they have dubbed the ‘interstitium’. According to a report in the Daily Mail, the interstitium lies beneath the top layer of skin, but is also in tissue layers lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels, and muscles. The organ is a network of interconnected, fluid-filled spaces all over the body.
As per the report, researchers say the network that carries this interstitial fluid is its own distinct organ and it may even be one of the largest organs in the body.
Researchers say that the study is the first to define the interstitium as an organ in its own right, and as one of the largest of the body. The new organ is made up of both strong (collagen) and flexible (elastin) connective tissue proteins, with interstitial fluid moving throughout.
For the study, the researchers examined tissue specimens of bile ducts from twelve cancer patients and recognised the structure in each. They found it exists all throughout the body, acting like a shock absorber in all places where tissues are moved or subjected to force.
According to the team, the discovery of the fluid ‘highway’ could help to explain how cancer spreads in the body, and pave the way for new ways to detect and treat the disease.
Researchers were able to view living tissues instead of fixed ones by using a newer technology called probe-based confocal laser encomicroscopy. The instrument uses a camera probe to light up tissues, while sensors analyze the reflected patterns.
The study was originally published in the Journal of Scientific Reports.
Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/interstitium-the-latest-organ-discovered-in-human-body-all-you-need-to-know-2094586
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Minimally invasive procedure used to perform double hip replacement for first time in India
The minimally invasive procedure direct anterior approach has been used first time in India by doctors in Hyderabad. A team of surgeons worked on a 53-year-old Somali patient, Mukhtar Hilowli, and performed a double hip replacement using the latest minimally invasive procedure the direct hip anterior for the first time in India.
Minimally invasive surgery encompasses surgical techniques that limit the size of incisions needed and hence lessen wound healing time, associated pain, and risk of infection. Both the hips of Mukhtar got fused following a severe bout of infection way back in 1986. In his case due to the infection and both right and left hip joints normal cartilage on femoral head and acetabulum was destroyed and caused fusion of femoral head and acetabulum.
Dr P. Sharath Kumar, orthopedic surgeon speaking with ANI said, “Basically both the hips became stiff; it’s just like one bone. So you can imaging somebody walking when both the hips are fused, which is extremely difficult. It is disabling. When we did an X-ray his both bones were completely fused, so the only way out was to do both sides. We call it as double hip replacement or bilateral hip replacement”.
Speaking more on the procedure, Dr Sharath said, “After the procedure, he is undergoing physiotherapy and is quite happy and overjoyed. He is living the dream because he can sit, move his hips and walk. Overall, it was a complex case. We don’t cut the muscle, we just separate them, reaching the joint. So your muscle strength is maintained to some extent”.
“The other issue is normally we all have a joint to go and put the implant, but in his case it was one bone, so we had to cut above and below to create some space and make room for the implant. That takes a lot of time and we have to be accurate in that otherwise it can leads to dislocations,” Dr Sharath continued. He revealed that a normal surgery in such cases takes one to one and a half hour but due to complexities in Mukhtar’s case, it took them two and a half hours.
Dr Hari Prasad, President, hospital division of Apollo speaking with ANI said, “We just saw an international patient coming from Somalia getting a very complex surgery done in India. It proves that India has the capability, the expertise, and the technology to treat most complex cases and provide most advanced health care, and a large part of the world doesn’t have access to this type of care.”
Further, Dr Prasad said, “India has an opportunity to bring in a lot more international patients and offer care here. In India, we cannot treat a patient who comes in on tourist visa. They need to take medical visa, which takes a longer time to be issued compared to regular visas, and is also more expensive than a tourist visa.”
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/minimally-invasive-procedure-used-to-perform-double-hip-replacement-for-first-time-in-india/story-IYTt7ZITxBlVUxgcPFNE8J.html
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