YANA India’stele-guidance portal spearheaded by Coimbatoreans comes as a major relief amidst the pandemic
Coimbatore: Close on the heels of the Health Ministry implementing tele-medicine service portals during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic which provided at least a lakh online consultations between patients and doctors within the confines of patients' homes, YANA (You Are Not Alone) India - an online platform for free professional consultation between patients and doctors was launched, spearheaded by doctors and professionals from Coimbatore.
Dr. Ahila Ayyavoo co-ordinated and roped in her doctor friends who are the backbone of this initiative 'YANA India'. Banyan Infotech has developed this online platfrom for free. Arvindh Srinivasan worked with the technical team to have the website ready in a week and trained volunteers to handle the consultancy. Second year Data Science students from Amirtha Institute, Laya Kumar and her friends from Mayflower Sakthi Garden, Nanjundapuram, friends from various parts of India, US, UK and Dhaka, and many other volunteers are spearheading the volunteer teams to launch YANA India's services as a beacon of hope amidst the Covid pandemonium.
The services will impact patients requiring tele-consultation since visiting hospitals have been limited due to the second wave of the Coronavirus owing to people visiting hospitalas being exposed to a high risk of contracting the virus.
According to a source, the Covid patient or caregivers have been advised to have a free consultation with doctors through their website every day. “Each day the consultation begins from 7 pm and ends at 10 pm. Once the patient or caregiver sends an appointment request, they will receive the confirmation message in their registered mobile number with their appointment timing. Subsequently a zoom invite will be sent to them and by clicking on the link they can visit the online YANA India clinic for their scheduled tele consultancy,” added the source.
The portal also brings social workers, technologists and social-conscious citizens to help fight against the pandemic. Kannan, one of the volunteers at YANA India says that this three-hour tele consultation programme launched on Sunday has thus far covered at least 15 patients and will pick up pace soon. "On an average, about 15 consultations are being provided and will increase in the future.
Having spoken with many doctors who showed interest in this programme apart from doctors on the panel at present, as many as 200 doctors from Chennai have evinced interest. The service has come as a major relief to people in villages too, since the access to healthcare might not be widespread. About seven certified and experienced doctors comprising of paediatricians, cardiac surgeons and gynaecologists in Coimbatore are on the panel. The source also provided the guidelines for users to fix an appointment."
How does YANA India work?
1) Welcome to yanaindia.org
2) If you think that you/your family member is affected by Covid 19 virus, proceed
3) Go through the portal, there are many resources that would help you self evaluate. If you still need professional guidance, then register by clicking on the Patients’ Request form.
1) Fill in all the mandatory columns. Upload the test results if you have not already done a RT-CPR or CT. Just click a picture with your mobile and upload the picture. Let the file size not be more than 50kb.
2) If all documents are in place, you will receive a confirmation message for your tele consultancy with date and time.
3) Be available at your allotted time. A volunteer will guide you through the process before you have a tele consultancy with the doctor.
4) Follow doctor's advice.