A free online medical teleconsultation service called Service eHealth And Teleconsultation (SeHAT) OPD is available to all entitled personnel of the three Services, which includes veterans and dependents. It aims to provide video-based clinical consultations between a doctor in a hospital and an entitled patient in the confines of his or her home. The site recommends using laptop / desktop with a connected webcam (instead of mobile) and the Google Chrome browser for best results. It is also advisable to have a good Internet connection during the consultation (at least 1 Mbps). The consultation will initially be for general OPD consultation and is proposed to be extended to specialist OPD consultation subsequently.

SeHAT OPD has been developed by CDAC Mohali and HQ IDS and is along the lines of eSanjeevani developed by the MoHFW. Salient features of this patient friendly web based Defence Service are as follows:-

• Patient registration
• Token Generation
• Queue Management
• Audio-Video Consultation with a Doctor
• ePrescription
• SMS/Email Notifications
• Armed Forces Medical Services Doctors
• Free Service
• Fully configurable (no. of daily slots, no. of doctors/clinics, waiting room slots, consultation time limit etc).

The procedure for teleconsultation and obtaining the ePrescription is depicted in the illustration below.

Once a token has been generated, it will be valid till it is consumed, i.e. till the ePrescription is generated after the teleconsultation. However, if the token is not used/consumed it will automatically expire at the end of the day. A new token cannot be generated until the existing token is used /consumed. There is also no provision as of now to cancel your token. The ePrescription or electronic prescription is prepared by the doctor based on consultations with the patient over SeHAT OPD. It contains the usual elements of a prescription, but in electronic form. The ePrescription also aims to improve patient safety by reducing medication errors.

The service is available from 0900-1700 hrs from Mondays to Saturdays. A user guide for patients may be viewed here and more details of the service are available at the SeHAT OPD website.

Mental Health Helpline

A dedicated Mental Health Helpline for Armed Forces personnel and their dependents was operationalized on 10 Sep 2024 at the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune enhancing access to mental healthcare. This helpline is an extension of the Tele MANAS facility and is available 24/7. The service can be accessed through the following toll-free numbers: 14416, 18008914416.