2. Problem Statement
• Challenges faced by rural India to acquire basic health care
• Educating the rural population of our country about the need
for primary health care and their rights to it
• Improving the quality and reach of primary health care in the
country
• Helping develop the rural regions of our country by improving
heath care
3. Scope of the problem
• With a shortage of qualified doctors and staff primary health
care stands at a crossroads (Appendix-A)
• Indian villages find it difficult to access basic health care
amenities when in need
• A dearth of medical centers in rural areas denies the rural
population of their right to essential medical services
4. Causes of the problem
• We have only 700,000 doctors serving a population of more than a
billion (Appendix-A)
• Medical centers/ hospitals/dispensaries are situated at places far
off from the rural regions
• No system of availing the health care services during an emergency
hence falling back on private services
• Oblivious to the services provided by the government
Reasons for selecting the cause
• “The soul of India lives in it’s villages” – M.K.Gandhi
• The problems faced by the poor usually go unnoticed and their
voices are muzzled
• Low income families find it difficult to access quality medical
facilities
• When the needs of the rural population are addressed the country
can grow as a whole
5. • Sampark aims at reaching the people using mobile medical
vans at their doorsteps
• Installation of a system in order to receive distress/emergency
calls from rural areas effectively in the mobile vans
• System lets the people in need contact the medical officers at
the mobile van anytime
Sampark – The Innovation
• Since the mobile vans can be contacted anytime whenever
needed , distress calls can be handled easily
• Facility for remote diagnosis would be available on the van for
critical cases, to consult specialists in those areas of medicine.
• The system sends timely sms to the patients as a reminder for
them to take medicines, which can be monitored by the
doctors on board
6. Merits over the existing solutions
• Though the mobile medical vans exist, there is no provision
for handling emergency cases (Appendix-A)
• If the mobile vans don’t come to a particular area over a long
period of time, the system allows the people to file a
complain with the higher authorities.
• The system sends timely sms to the patients using the data
stored, according to diagnosis for which there is no provision
as of now
7. Implementation of the solution
• The mobile medical vans are equipped with all the necessary
aids required for the diagnosis of a patient
• Every van will be taking in charge of 3-4 neighboring villages
and will visit these villages once in two days
• In general every 3-4 mobile vans will have access to one
ambulance
• In case of emergency when the vans are not available, the
people can also call any of the mobile van services. The call
will be redirected to any other available van if a particular
service is found busy
• The mobile vans will take the patient to the PHC or a well
equipped hospital depending on the condition of the patient
8. Key steps involved in implementation
• A telephonic system wherein the caller will give the
emergency call to one particular number and the call will be
made to all the mobile vans nearby simultaneously(Appendix-
A)
• The system will enable the available van at that instant to
receive the call
• The callers locality can be tracked down using a GPS tracking
system in the van(Appendix-A)
• A unique number will be given to the villagers to complain
about the irregular services to the higher authorities directly.
9. Resources
• The medical graduates who are supposed to serve in the
village for an year after the graduation can serve as doctors in
the mobile vans
• The already existing mobile vans could be used for the
purpose with enhanced facilities.
• The medicine supply for the PHC’s could be used for refilling
the vans
• One person with technical expertise will be required to
handle the emergency calls and the tracking system
10. Impact of the solution
• Easier and timely access to quality medical services
• An effective primary diagnosis before the patient is taken to the
hospital
• Cost effective service
• Spreading health awareness by holding medical camps
• Rural development which enhances the overall development of the
country
Scalability and sustainability
• Sampark can be further scaled by introducing more technologies
into the mobile vans for remote access by the doctors
• If implemented in the right way remote operations could also be
performed inside the vans
• Sampark takes care of the present scenario of primary health care
in rural areas and also has a promising future, making it sustainable
11. Challenges for the proposed solution
• Nothing is perfect
• Sampark at first might not gel with the villagers easily as they
would rather go see a private doctor during an emergency
who would charge more and care less
• Changing this mindset might be a challenge
• But again not something that’s insurmountable
• The system must be given extra resources during a natural
calamity/epidemic
