The district administration has come up with a user-friendly mobile application titled, Doc Talk Ranchi, which allows residents irrespective of whether they have/had Covid-19 or not to seek any kind of medical advice free of cost from a panel of doctors.
Developed in association with Noida based IT firm Sanganan IT Solutions, the app currently has over 140 doctors, both from private and public entities, who have empanelled themselves to offer voluntary service, deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan said on Tuesday.
While the mobile application was initially rolled out at the end of July, the district administration is promoting it vigorously only now to curb non-essential movement by the people in the wake of a steady surge in Covid-19 cases in the capital.
As per Monday night’s Covid bulletin, of the 4,633 total cases in Ranchi district, 2,152 are active.
“The app provides telemedical consultations. So far, over 200 people have availed of it. We appeal to the public to use it as much as they can so that they can get free of cost consultation for their medical needs without having to take pains visiting clinics or hospitals,” Ranjan said.
The deputy commissioner said that the district administration was also asking doctors and medical practitioners to get themselves registered and offer their services. “Since it is completely voluntary, we can only appeal to doctors to come forward in public interest,” he said, adding that the app can run on any Android or IOS phones.
Sharad Upadhyay (50), a resident of Kokar who downloaded the application on Tuesday, said he was able to seek advice for a dental issue instantly. “I was suffering from a toothache since Monday but wasn’t keen to immediately rush to a dentist fearing infection.
“One of my friends told me about this application after which I downloaded it to give it a try. Initially, I couldn’t find any dentist available in the morning. But around noon, I could get help after finding one doctor online, who asked me to take a few medicines,” said Upadhyaya, who runs a milk parlour.
