AP to set up 25 Health Care ATMs to pop pills in districts

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to set up 25 health care ATMs at Primary Health Care centres in all districts in the State. From these health care ATMs, people can get immediate medicine for the common ailments such as head-ache, diabetes, fever and so on with one click. This is a Central programme, which the State government will be taking forward. It was decided by the Centre in March last to set up health care ATMs, apart from Andhra Pradesh, in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. The idea is to offer free medicine to the poor. Health workers and Auxiliary Nurse Midwife will supply the medicines to the health care ATMs. They will also be provided with a facility to call for an ambulance, if necessary. Under the World Health Organisation norms, there ought to be a doctor for every thousand people, but in India the ratio is one doctor for 2000 people. The position is worse in rural areas where the ratio is one doctor for every 18,000 population. Hence the setting up of health care ATMs in rural areas. Under the plan, Nellore will have one health care ATM, while there will be two ATMs in each of the other districts. These helath ATMs systems are being manufactured by National Health Systems Research Centre.