Parliament Question: Effectiveness of Telemedicine Services

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA STARREDQUESTION NO. *284 TOBE ANSWERED ON THE 7THAUGUST,2026 EFFECTIVENESS OFTELEMEDICINE SERVICES *284 DR. C N MANJUNATH: Will the MINISTEROFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE be pleased tostate: (a)whether the Government hasassessed the utilisation andeffectivenessof telemedicine services for the management of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) andthe e-Sanjeevani platform inthe country, if so, the detailsthereof; (b) the number of Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, particularly in rural and aspirational districts, equipped to provide specialist teleconsultationservices, State-wise; (c) whether disease-specific teleconsultation protocols or standard treatment guidelines have been developedfor heartdisease, diabetes, cancerandothermajorNCDs, if so, the detailsthereof; and (d) whether the Government proposes to strengthen digital health infrastructure and expand specialist telemedicine services under ABDM and e-Sanjeevani to improve NCD care in underserved areas and if so, the detailsthereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE (SHRIJAGATPRAKASH NADDA) (a) to(d)AStatementislaid onthe Tableof the House.STATEMENTREFERRED TO IN REPLYTOLOK SABHA STARREDQUESTION NO. 284*FOR7TH AUGUST,2026 (a) to (d) The Government of India has monitored, and reviewed the utilization and effectiveness of telemedicine services—specifically through eSanjeevani (the national telemedicine service) and the broader Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) ecosystem for providing access to healthcare and managing a variety of ailments including both acute illnesses and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like hypertension anddiabetes. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) was launched by the Government of India in September, 2021 to support the development of an integrated, citizen centric national digital health ecosystem. Various national health programme platforms, including PM-JAY, National Programme for Prevention and Control of NCDs (NP-NCD), Nikshay, Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) program and e-Sanjeevani (telemedicine) including the integrated Swasth Bharat Portal are compliant with ABDM. This has enabled interoperable health record exchange in e-Sanjeevani further improving telemedicine services including health services for NCDs. Citizens can securely store and access their medical records (eg. prescriptions, diagnostic reports, discharge summaries) digitally and share them with healthcare providers after their consent. This enables the creation of a longitudinal health history, which isuseful for the management/treatment of non-communicable andother diseases andalso enables interoperabledigital services toensure accessible andaffordable healthcarefor all citizens. The national telemedicine services eSanjeevani has been utilized by large number of women and elderly/senior citizens, thus indicating utilization of the platform for needy and vulnerable sections of population for consultancy for a wide range of health care services and diseases, including non-communicable diseases. This service is available in 14 languages onthe app-based platform and 15 languages on the web-based telemedicine services, thus ensuring access to even vulnerable population inremote,rural andhilly areas, includingaspirational districts. As on 30th July 2026, eSanjeevani has facilitated over 48.95 crore teleconsultations across all the States and Union Territories including rural areas and aspirational districts through a network of 19,257 hubs and 1,41,341 spokes, which includes Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs), Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs), Sub-District Hospitals and District Hospitals. The state-wise detailsof teleconsultation on eSanjeevaniare attached at Annexure. Further, the infrastructure of eSanjeevani, India's national telemedicine platform, has undergone regular technological upgrades to enhance its scalability, clinical efficacy, and user experience. The advanced version eSanjeevani 2.0 with integration of cloud computing and incorporation of artificial intelligence, has strengthened the digital platform as well as helped in provision of specialist services to remote and underserved areas. Features to request for specialist consultation are available on the eSanjeevani platform. Further, the AI based Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) available on this platform also enables a systematic capture of the diseases symptoms through a detailed patient assistance form, and identification of possible diseases. It also makes recommendation of a specialist doctor through a‘rule engine’ and offers a differential diagnosis of possible diseases to the doctor at the hub end, thus facilitating connect of the patients with specialists as well as aiding consultations. Since its integration in April, 2023 till July, 2026, nearly 30.4 crore eSanjeevani consultations across all States/UTs have been benefited from standardized data capture and nearly 2.13 crore AI based differential diagnosis, ensuring consistency across healthandwellness centres. Under the National Programme for Prevention andControl of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD), standard treatment protocols and operational guidelines are available for prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of major NCDs including hypertension, diabetes and common cancers. Further, the national NCD portal has been rolled out by the Government in 2018 under NP-NCD for NCD screening and management and ensuring continuum of care for five common NCDs, i.e. hypertension, diabetes, oral cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer. The protocol applies to all consultationsunderthe NP-NCD.ANNEXURE State/UTwise Status of eSanjeevaniTeleconsultations (Cumulative till 30thJuly2026) Total Total Number Numberof Total S. of Total HUBs Total Spokes Consultations Numberof N StateName Consultations Operational Operational in Teleconsult o. ineSanjeevani eSanjeevani ations AAM OPD AndamanAnd 1 2 78 1257 5 1262 NicobarIslands 2 AndhraPradesh 1221 11429 85892219 36989 85929208 Arunachal 3 12 198 8590 560 9150 Pradesh 4 Assam 365 3232 3224045 49266 3273311 5 Bihar 53 9907 32653643 124793 32778436 6 Chandigarh 6 56 135067 19197 154264 7 Chhattisgarh 280 4624 5021183 1231 5022414 8 Delhi 5 28 3545 92815 96360 9 Goa 23 106 3341 2194 5535 10 Gujarat 1957 9323 13478653 1015280 14493933 11 Haryana 198 1857 1186767 213715 1400482 Himachal 12 548 1928 1191407 7482 1198889 Pradesh Jammu& 13 512 1903 1877633 146353 2023986 Kashmir 14 Jharkhand 30 3317 4259143 12584 4271727 15 Karnataka 2087 6409 25516332 5412497 30928829 16 Kerala 132 6831 3183132 582207 3765339 17 Ladakh 2 206 172567 76 172643 18 Lakshadweep 2 7 668 0 668 19 MadhyaPradesh 185 10215 12231251 8170 12239421 20 Maharashtra 1890 9573 13216801 767892 13984693 21 Manipur 30 275 103401 8714 112115 22 Meghalaya 49 566 399682 10 399692 23 Mizoram 88 297 52201 191 52392 24 Nagaland 1 231 16850 10 16860 25 Odisha 491 6597 5429753 305 5430058 26 Puducherry 4 46 6974 44 7018 27 Punjab 17 1650 949914 4401 954315 28 Rajasthan 2062 6258 3287809 114164 3401973 29 Sikkim 26 157 59104 11 59115 30 TamilNadu 1791 6928 72395726 1748214 74143940 31 Telangana 958 5714 33680835 28658 33709493 TheDadraand 32 NagarHaveliand 25 113 155681 60 155741 DamanAndDiu 33 Tripura 117 675 215537 145 215682 34 UttarPradesh 4019 18714 69260134 1836175 71096309 35 Uttarakhand 11 1226 626475 975430 1601905 36 West Bengal 68 10707 86395492 13054 86408546*****