CGHS services to be made available in 100 cities by 2022: Union health minister

New Delhi, Sep 1 (PTI) New Delhi, Sep 1 (PTI) Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) services will be made available in 100 cities by 2022, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday.

CGHS services, which started in 1954 from Gol Market in Delhi, reached only 25 cities till 2014. But, in the last five years of the NDA government, services under the scheme have been extended to as many as 71 cities, he said after inaugurating a state-of-the-art CGHS Bhawan at Sector 13 in R K Puram here. The new bhawan is the CGHSs headquarters and houses the administrative section, the CGHS Card section, and a state-of-the-art wellness centre.

The Union minister also launched the annual health check-up scheme for CGHS beneficiaries, who are pensioners of the age of 75 years and above. "CGHS services should be made available in 100 cities by 2022, when the prime minister also wishes to deliver a New India to all citizens," Vardhan said. “The scheme has the potential of becoming one of the best in the world. I wish to have an internal brainstorming session among senior CGHS doctors to evaluate the possibilities of further improvement of the scheme, for strengthening the transparency and adding further reforms the minister said. He assured CGHS doctors that all positive reforms shall be incorporated in the planning and appealed to beneficiaries to send suggestions for improvement of services.”

Vardhan also hailed the CGHSs initiative of calling telephonically and inquiring about the health of beneficiaries who are above 80 years of age.

Healthcare News Monitor

Leprosy drug to treat cancer? Docs hunt for new uses of old meds

The Times of India- Durgesh Nandan Jha

Can a leprosy tablet priced at Rs 2 be the miracle cure to treat blood-cell cancer? Or can expensive injections given to treat osteoporosis in post-menopausal women be replaced with a pill that costs as little as Rs 100 for a month’s supply? These are questions Indian doctors have set out to answer as they look towards repurposing old drugs as affordable treatments for new diseases. At the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, scientists recently found certain leprosy drugs might help treat myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Sabyasachi Sanyal, a researcher at CDRI, in collaboration with clinical haematology department of King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, screened FDA-approved drugs in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells and found that a leprosy drug — clofazimine, priced at Rs 2 per tablet — was a potent inhibitor of these cells. Sanyal’s colleague and chief scientist at CDRI Lucknow, Dr Naibedya Chattopadhyay, screened a library of over 1,000 drugs with the aim to discover an oral substitute for teriparatide — an injectable given to women suffering from postmenopausal osteoporosis. “Our pre-clinical studies found that Pentoxifylline, a drug prescribed for treatment of a disease of peripheral artery, when given to osteoporotic female rabbits mimicked effects of teriparatide including restoration of bone mass, strength, micro-structure and quality,” Chattopadhyay told TOI.

ICMR panel calls for end to Nestle-sponsored medical study

The Times of India- Rema Nagarajan

A committee constituted by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has concluded that the company’s sponsorship of a five-hospital study violates India’s law on infant milk substitutes. The committee has recommended immediate termination of the study and prosecution of the violators (researchers and company). The development comes even as two more instances of Nestle sponsoring clinical trials have been brought to the attention of ICMR. The Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), notified by the government to monitor compliance of the Infant Milk Substitutes (IMS) Act, had brought the five-hospital study to the notice of the health ministry and the ICMR on July 17. The health ministry wrote to the ICMR on August 2 asking for the complaint to be examined and for necessary action. The ministry also sought steps “to ensure that all trials in future are screened for any infringement of the IMS Act”. Two other studies that BPNI wrote about to ICMR on August 26 involved subsidiaries of Nestle. These are a multi-country observational study on infant feeding registered in December 2018 that lists Societe des Produits Nestle in Switzerland as its primary sponsor and another observational study on composition of milk of nourished and under-nourished mothers with funding and sponsorship of Nestec Ltd of Switzerland, which was registered in 2014. Both studies include several well-known hospitals such as Apollo Childrens Hospital, Chennai, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi, Hiranandani Hospital, Thane, and a Bangalore hospital of the Narayana Health Group.

Soon, U’khand to have North India’s first medical equipment manufacturing park

Ehealth

Soon, Uttarakhand will have North India’s first medical equipment manufacturing and testing park as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIDCUL) Kalam Institue of Health Technology(KIHT) recently. In an endeavour to boost indigenous medical equipment industry, a “Medi City” will be established on the border of Dehradun and Haridwar. As per a TOI report, the unit will cater to the medicine manufacturing units of Roorkee, Haridwar as well as Western UP. Over 1,000 medical equipment will be manufactured and tested about their usability at the testing park. Report quoting SA Murugesan, managing director of SIDCUL said the MoU was signed on August 29.A team from KIHT is likely to visit the State in first Week of September and work on the various contours of the project. “We have requested them to share a Detailed Project Report (DPR) with us in three months. The team will be shown some shortlisted areas where this Medi City can be built, along with ideas that the government wants to be included in the project,” said Murugesan.

Artemis Hospital performs North Indias first Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG)

ET Healthworld- ANI

Gurugram: Artemis Hospital, Gurugram has become the first hospital in North India to introduce Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG), a newer and revolutionary non-invasive procedure to treat obesity. It is performed to help to lose weight and potentially lower the risk of serious weight-related health problems. Recently Artemis Hospital treated north Indias first patient, a 34 years old from Rewari, Jatin (name changed) who had obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension. The treatment went successful and Jatin was discharged within 48 hours. Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) is a newer type of weight-loss procedure. ESG reduces the size of your stomach using an endoscopic suturing device without the need for surgery. It is performed to help you lose weight and potentially lower your risk of serious weight-related health problems, including, Gastroesophageal reflux disease, heart disease, and stroke, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes.