Activity Tag Archive

March 10, 2022• Featured, News, Reviews, Trending

How much does a Pair of Eye Glasses Costs for People at the Last Mile?

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Vision impairment due to lack of access to eyeglasses has been identified as one of the largest unaddressed disabilities in the world. There are many remote villages, where getting a pair of eyeglasses is a distant dream for many. With a pair of glasses costing pittance, 550 million people in India are still in dark. Whereas, there are other parts of the world, where the first reading eye glasses can be picked up easily from a grocery store or a pharmacy.

Of all the eye problems, the commonest eye problem results mainly due to refractive error causing hyperopia, presbyopia, or myopia, and which can be easily corrected using eyeglasses. Refractive error is a condition where a person is unable to focus clearly on an object. Above the mentioned problem, Presbyopia is the most easy to correct just by trying out different corrective glasses. But, quite apart, such diseases remain largely untreated. Vision impairment is more than just a health disorder. It has economic, social and public safety implications and with variety of approaches tried and tested, to date none have succeeded on a larger scale.

iKure’s eye care intervention shows 78 per cent need access to eyeglasses particularly among them are construction workers, bus drivers, and school going children. With the staggeringly high impaired vision, the quality of life remain hampered, translating into reduced productivity, economic losses and huge absenteeism in school.

With the mission to bring eye glasses to all who need them, iKure has potentially paved the way for a new beginning in dissolute communities. With access to simple pair of spectacles, the venture has drastically improved earning power, educational prospects, and enabling every day task easier. Post intervention, our beneficiaries have reported to feel motivated with positive social and economic outcomes, better learning behavior and even fewer road accidents. So far, iKure through its eye care initiative has helped more than 0.5 million people get access to corrective eyeglasses.

Another approach initiated by iKure includes access to power testing using state-of-art technology. The use of advanced technology has facilitated getting corrective eye glasses with reduced chances of manual error, bringing ease of using among the end-users.

While the problem too large to scale, but simple enough to solve, we look forward to working with partners and Govt. initiatives to bring the first pair of eyeglasses needing them.

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March 10, 2022• Featured, News, Tech

Why celebrate World Senior Citizen Day?

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iKure’s purpose in celebrating world senior citizen day is to raise awareness and support the health conditions of older people.

21st August is regarded as World Senior Citizen Day. Anyone beyond 60 years of age is a Senior Citizen by convention.We cannot help but lamenting that we cannot boast of having done anything remarkable on the welfare of Senior Citizens of this country by the method of policy…and this matter does not fare high in the list of authoritative priorities.

Nevertheless, bodies and associations have come forwards since not too long, to think on this sensitive issue and create a better living for a senior citizen across this country.

Old age homes have started dotting everywhere but the terms and conditions for housing them must be subsidized to include more and more of such population….without too much of a burden for the self-financing groups. Old people remain isolated from the family buzz and children moving to greener pastures leave such hapless people vulnerable to the nuances of social insecurities and bodily morbidities. They become alienated from the families they once took pride in building up and become redundant in the household of younger folks. Their opinions do not matter anymore in the day to day lives of the gen X and the seamless peace of life gets replaced by daily miseries of psyche and dignity. They are made to be figured out as burdens to the society.

Senior Citizens are prone to suffer from several clusters of diseases as below:

Cardiovascular ailments…acquired over their lifetime which needs to be addressed seriously. Coronary Arterial disease/Valvular disorders/Heart Failure/Heart Attacks (AMI) dominate the,list of morbidities in this group.

1. Lifestyle diseases such as Hypertension/Diabetes/Dyslipidaemias/Obesity form the prominent members of this groupacquired as a result of erratic/unrestricted lifestyle and often with genetic predisposition. They need lifelong care from Physicians attending them periodically, for as long as they would survive.

2. Gastrointestinal conditions like..Colonic disorders/Chronic constipation/GERD/Anorectal diseases/ Genitourinary diseases…. form another group which need either one time attention, or, follow up with the respective Speciality Doctors.

3. Neurological conditions like Stroke causing bedridden morbidity with/without paralysis needing prolonged close care by family members/attendants…or….physiotherapy for extended sessions form a bulk of suffering in this age group..

4. Miscellaneous category…comprised by Psychiatric illnesses/ Abandoned cases /Victims of physical abuse/Discharged from Hospitals or infirmaries with no family contact/ Addicts to Drugs and Alcohol / Homeless ones… etc.

All the above ailments require financial help and social inputs to manage the vulnerable segment of population and the dreaded solitude that it entails…which in itself brings down the life span of such seniors….the octogenarians and nonagenerians in society.

There are many countries where such people form a major part of the living society…such as Japan…who can boast of well laid down policies and generous grants from the government, to take care of the issues related to old age survivors and their health matters.

In india we are still far from this achievement in a mentionable way but efforts have just begun! The discipline which deals with medical issues of this age is called “Geriatrics” and Doctors are getting specialized in this field to work with only senior citizens.

Our mindset needs to change to support and care for the people of such advanced age in their twilight years and not regard them as just ‘gone over the hill’. ..!

Children need to be more sensitive and empathic to the needs of their parents who brought them up and not forget that they are also going to reach this age one day in future.

We need to approach this social malady in a holistic and pragmatic way seeking cooperation from NGO-s and similar social workers and a teamwork of trained personnel to come forwards in solving this growing issue of ‘unattended in old age’ concept.

How iKure is working towards the welfare goals of senior citizens?

“iKure” is an exemplary organization striving towards the very challenging goal of making the lives of our citizens better through many of its innovative ways and means, often defeating the challenges of human resource mobilization and deployment………..meaningful utilization of available resources…and constantly looking for areas of intervention in healthcare…in domestic & international geography, to mention a few!

In its ambit of operations…iKure has allotted priority to some areas of suffering of fellow human beings,such as Lifestyle diseases ( NCD-s) which is a modern scourge to humanity.

Across the intervention areas of this organization, a sizeable portion of the target community served hails from this group….the Senior Citizens….for whom we pay a little added focus, because of the enumerous socio-economical nuances, that such people have to face in their day to day lives.

iKure organizes medical camps from time to time…..serving the regional population…many of whom are of advanced age..in the areas of NCD-s….with regards to an holistic approach…which includes not only management of such ailments but the relevant health education required to understand such diseases…up..close..and personal ..by gaining knowledge on the occurrence causes…preventive modalities…and complications which may come up…for those who unfortunately have fallen victim to such diseases.

iKure attaches a lot of importance on Eyecarewhich is predominantly skewed towards the elderly folks, in addressing the conditions arising in old age such as Cataract/Glaucoma/ARMD/Retinal deterioration etc. The organization applies modern technology to detect such conditions in a proactive manner, screens the population of such sinister eye diseases and guides them through the scientific protocol of management /referral of such cases, being affected by specific eye diseases. Had this not been in place, a lot of hapless and underprivileged people would have lost their eyesight by now!

The mechanism is on.. to increase the door-to-door surveillance of the segment of the senior population affected by Cardiovascular Disease by means of remote monitoring and coordination through wearable devices …..under experimentation for implementation policy. This will go a long way to detect major and minor cardiac ailments for a timely referral to the domain of specialists to address the particular issues.

Last but not the least…iKure is in the planning stage to enter into a rather new concept of “ Continuum of Care“…wherein….it can collaborate with secondary/tertiary Medical Centres,to take care of interim/transitory patient care for the welfare of patients in the home settings of such clientele, many of whom are senior citizens.

With iKure’s integrated efforts, we can only hope that the plight of senior citizens gets better with time in this country and around the world…in order that this day is celebrated with increasing fervor in society…in times to come.

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March 10, 2022• Featured, Tech

iKure Celebrates National Nutrition Week

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The National Nutritional Week ( the first week of September) concept was created by the Govt. Of India in 1982 to emphasize,educate and create awareness among people on the importance of eating/drinking the right kind of nutrients and the impact it has on the health of a person.

The word ‘Nutrition’ means the understanding of consumption of all edibles available to one, leading to the promotion of health and the word ‘Dietetics’ implies the management of facts and science behind the right kind of food elements towards good health and in conditions of disease, along with other preventative, prophylactic and therapeutic measures.

Nutrition is the fundamental birthright of all citizens of this country and one of the strong pivotal criteria of building a sound human base for the upkeep of this nation. The only way to create this in a continuous manner against all nuances is to provide the basic nutrition to all people of this country in the journey from ‘developing’ to ‘developed’ nation …beginning with breastfeeding just after being born to food guidance in the later years in life through all ages ! Lamenting though..we have not reached anywhere near to the standards of many a nation in this world…on this topic..which is not even given its due priority.

We can only wish a separate ministry by the name of “ Ministry of Nutrition and healthy consumerism “ be formed in India, to take care of the myriad aspects of nutrition plaguing this nation and the solutions needed to address the same.

‘Midday School Meals’ need to be taken much more seriously across the length and breadth of this country to plant the sapling of a sound nutrition to children who are the future citizens of India. There is no uniform policy in place for the proper utilization of funds allocated on this and just any combination of low grade food elements are used to serve such meals to children. ..often to the point of denial. This needs a serious redressal and soon. ‘Maternal and Child Nutrition’ needs to be looked into from a rather preventive angle.

‘Food adulteration’ is another area of mammoth deception to mankind for easy profits and takes a serious toll on human health in the long run. There is simply no effective law on this and the punishments are not grave and the involved people get away easily without any significant punitive measures. This applies to both raw food elements in the open market, as well as, semi-prepared and prepared food which is plain speaking unfit for human consumption. Recent instances of passing off animal carcasses as consumable meat to humans, form a glaring example to the height of daringness and apathy on vigil in this matter !

We need more Nutritionists & dietician to cover the large population of this country to work towards the sound health of people through Governmental and Non-governmental organisations and they should be empowered with authority to book the offenders and refer them for due legal recourse. This week is dedicated to initiate and start such projects across the states of this country ,with a varying theme each year, with regards to poor maternal nutrition/ill health of children/ignored health of poverty stricken population and more. There must also be stress on the educative aspects of this huge problem by different means of reaching the vulnerable segment of the population and guided by the general literacy of those affected. Group meetings with real time food sample demonstration sessions and a guide to elementary home cooking can go a long way to initiate a campaign towards sound nutrition of humans. Food analysis….random check on food vendors….and standardization of policies need to be implemented with immediate effect….to prevent the growing menace of food adulteration which has already cost a good no. of human and animal lives in this country of ours ! A good amount of research in nutrition as applicable to the socioeconomic fabric of this nation and monitoring the impact at the ground level…is also a perquisite.

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March 10, 2022• Lifestyle, Tech, Travel

What Causes High Prevalence of Anemia in Rural Hinterland- A case study to assess the gap

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Anemia is most prevalent in low-resource settings, where it goes undetected until becomes severe. Despite the implementation of several initiatives by the Government, India has made only 13 percent progress in eradicating anemia (Global Nutrition Report, 2017).1

Periodic screening and early diagnosis are the keys to controlling anemia. The conventional Hb tests involve invasive methods with the requirement of hygienic infrastructure and skilled healthcare providers. But with the huge gap in basic health infrastructure, rural community members have very little provision for diagnostic facilities.

In Kenduapal Village of PaschimMedinipur, West Bengal shows 88 percent of reproductive-age women have undergone Hb tests for the first time in their lives. They were not aware, if they are prone to a high-risk pregnancy or not. It also indicates the behavioral risk factor which contributes to delay in Anemia detection.

According to WHO recommendation, a non-invasive hemoglobin device is proved to be a good addition. Non-invasive point of care devices can eliminate the potential contamination, bio-hazard handling and can even enable frontline health workers with basic education to perform Hb Test.2 Joseph et al. (2016) also affirm that non-invasive methods are safer than invasive methods and improve patient satisfaction.3Bandyopadhyay S., Neogi, and John D. et al. (2019) further contributed to the fact that as most of the anaemia screening happen in outreach settings, where provision for laboratory support seems difficult, the device ought to be tested in field settings with health workers, non-invasive diagnostic provides viable accuracy.4

iKure’s non-invasive anemia screening initiative started with the vision of reaching out to the last mile community. Members are chosen from the community and are technologically and clinically trained to use them for screening patients. The community health workers are further mobilized to collect other health parameters important to understand the risk of the patients. Instead of using a paper-based format, CHWs use WHIMS that is able to collect patients’ vitals on a cloud server. The data available on the cloud are further sent to medical professionals for referral and counseling.

However, while iron deficiency is the main cause, micronutrient deficiency, inflammations and inherited disorders also contribute to anemia. A baseline report of mother and child health camps reveals that 64% of pregnant women were anemic and 30% with milder anemia. Nutritional experts suggested that a large section of the community are found to be anemic because of women’s ‘‘non-compliance/non-adherence” to the consequences of the anemia and fear and anxiety towards invasive blood drawing.5 Also, women’s consumption rate of IFA supplements are low since they complain of suffering from gastrointestinal upset. Altering such behavior requires regular counselling. iKure’s CHWs are deployed to spread awareness and bring positive health-seeking behavior among pregnant women, new mothers, and adolescent girls.

iKure’s non-invasive anemia testing initiative has been rolled out successfully in school health program and mother and child health camps catchment areas. Within few months, it has gained significant traction such as:

 

  • In West Bengal and Karnataka more than 50% population are found to improve IFA tablets consumption rate.
  • Regular awareness and counseling by iKure medical team during health camps have altered care-seeking behaviour with a reduced percentage of anemic patients

  • The introduction of non-invasive screening devices has improved patients’

    footfall with more women willing for Hb tests

While priorities and approaches may differ according to geographic settings, but strategies to curb anemia remain the same. At iKure, we believe in bringing the desired change soon in India’s rural villages.

Reference :

1. “From promise to impact ending malnutrition by 2030”,Global Nutrition Report,2017,
2. Ma’ayan L., Choppe L., Tikva P., Israel, Lausanne, “Non-Invasive Hemoglobin Screening for Diagnosis and Monitoring of Anemia”, Read More
3. Josheph, Bella., Haider, Ansab., Rhee, Peter., “Non-invasive hemoglobin monitoring”, International Journal of Surgery, 33 (2016):254-257
4. Neogi SB, John D, Sharma J et al. Cost-effectiveness of invasive devices versus non-invasive devices for screening of anemia in field settings in India: A study protocol [version 1; peer review: 1 not approved] F1000Research 2019, 8:861 Read More
5. “Nutritional Anaemias: Tools for Effective Prevention and Control”, World Health Organization, 2017, Read More

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March 10, 2022• Featured

World Alzheimer’s Day

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This Day is observed on the 21st September every year, as a day in the World Alzheimer Month…by organisations and foundations worldwide with this name.

Alzheimer’s disease is a slowly progressing cascade of cognitive decline affecting subjects in the senile age group and is regarded as multifactorial in its origin and with no significant treatment as yet, assuring a reversal or stoppage in the progress of this slow brain cell death…ending up with bodily cessation of functions in course of time.

The hallmark of this disease is dementia and this particular condition is the commonest cause of dementia affecting human kind.

It has an obscure aetiology this far ..speculated to being caused by the abnormal deposition of proteins amidst the brain cells….like Amyloid ..causing plaques and and Tau…which remain entangled with the neurons in the brain.

While the unmodifiable factor(s) could be…age/familial/genetic…modifiable ones could be lifestyle/environmental/smoking/depression-due to any cause/sedentary life in solitude /exposure to cumulative effects of noise /untreated hearing loss etc. Also morbid grief after losing a loved one , financial worries,health anxiety of chronic debilitating illnesses could be a common precipitant of this condition. It is seen to have a gender bias..as to slightly more common in women above 65 years than men of similar age.

Some common pointers towards this affection is the initial presentation of very mild memory loss/cognitive decline…appearing to be normal of this age, but gradually advancing to affect the normal ability of a person, to execute the very basic tasks of day to day lives and failing to recall the names of familiar persons and simple objects of life, accompanied with inappropriate social behavior and lack of mental restraints. With this begins a phase of dependency on others around, to lead a normal daily life and ultimately ending up with immobility and gross paucity of activities towards the terminal phase of this phenomena…of senile dementia.

Since this disease does not kill immediately…a chosen caregiver has an immense role to play in caring for such affected individuals in their twilight years.Empathy and not sympathy is the sheet anchor of an approach to any person affected with Alzheimer’s. In fact..it is always better if a normal personwho is supposed to play the role of a caregiver, to undergo a brief orientation session, as to how to deal with a person affected with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Some important aspects of communicating with persons suffering from this condition may be as below …

  • To speak in simple sentences with them,in a slow pace, stressing more on long term past memories and avoid asking questions which emphasize on short term memory.
  • On seeking for preferences….as to wishing to have egg/fish for lunch..it is better to show them the objects ,for a better clarity in the question and response.
  • The speaker must remain aware of his/her own’s body language or mannerism while talking to the affected one…focusing on direct eye contact and in the absence of any sensory distraction.
  • Demonstrate ample amount of patience while communicating with a dementic person…till the patient is able to comprehend the topic on which spoken to.
  • Never ever comment on the mental /intelligent set back on the faculties of an affected person in front of the communicator.
  • Be aware of the limitations of the affected person….on memory loss/difficulty in handling complex tasks/problems in planning and organizing their personal lives/difficulty in coordination and locomotion etc. etc.Preventive aspects on this condition are many ….which includes leading a simple lifestyle….avoid being affected by extremes of emotions…regular touch with friends and relatives….cutting down on caffeine intake to increase the sleeping hours,following a simple rule to keep the cognition active…by doing simple calculations mentally-trying to recall all those whom the person had met earlier in life-trying to place the names of persons by visuals (pictures/photos)-and spiritual recourse at convenient timings in day to day lives.

Researches are on for a definitive management strategy of this disease but the results are yet to come forth in a big way.

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February 11, 2019• Lifestyle

Peace Proposal

The challenges facing society—a global pandemic, the climate crisis, social and political upheaval, and inequality—are happening at a time when there is a significant trust deficit, and in large part because of it. The implicit social contract between institutions and individuals has frayed.

And we’ve seen the results first-hand. So, the first step in any healing and rebuilding is the reestablishment of trust.

Trust is a relationship in which we are vulnerable to others’ actions—a relationship in which we are not just relying on the other party to do what we want; we are trusting them to do what we want and not hurt us in the process. This means that the poor and downtrodden must feel safe that you will not be inflicting any further misery. Trust goes much beyond following the letter of the law, it is about setting high standards. It is about replacing every iota of greed with purpose. It is about being the change that we want to see and service before self. It is about enabling the best minds and action and service before self. It is about leadership. It is about listening and then acting. It is not about imposing one`s ideas on others, but about letting the people speak. Though the wounds inflicted are medical in nature, it is not about treating, but about healing, it is about the person and not the patient. It is about empathy and humility that we do not know everything, but we shall work with you and find solutions. It is about being sensitive and feeling the pain and misery of others and about giving.

To win the trust of the population at large, all teams, groups or companies must first establish trust among each other and establish purpose. It is about breaking down barriers and silos and reaching out to one another and filling in any deficiencies that the other may have. It is about helping people introspect, meditate, dig deep and bring solutions themselves. It is about building human connections. It is about enabling bringing the whole selves into society. It is about accepting imperfections and making people believe that it is alright to fail. It is about providing people psychological security and its not just about the winners, its also about the people who put in effort and did not succeed. Its about celebrating the little goodness and throwing away the not so good.

This must start from the top and the leadership must by example. We must define leadership as looking after the person to the left and the right of you and win them over with honest deeds. It is important to look at the bigger picture and the haves need to look after the have nots and one must give till it hurts. Greed and hate will only beget destruction which will come back to engulf us. Leaders need to sheath swords, silence war drums and become the missionaries of peace. We should speak the language of humanity, in a language that people understand.

At iKure, we not just hire, but work with people who are aligned with our core values and believe in being good and doing good. We believe in each other and our drive is purpose and not wealth. We believe in managing and healing the whole human being and therefore we are working with like minded musicians and artists to build purpose and community cohesion.

We believe that vaccination is important for our future survival and are making an effort not just to immunise our own team but people in far flung areas where the supply chain may not reach. We are collaborating with government and non-governmental bodies in not just providing medical help but also improve the social determinants like Income and social protection, Education, Unemployment and job insecurity, Working life conditions, Food insecurity, Housing, basic amenities and the environment, early childhood development, social inclusion and non-discrimination, structural conflict, access to affordable health and services of decent quality.

Going by the plight of the migrant labourers, it has now become imperative to find employment near the place of residence, which will mean working with the people and develop a love for their own land and identity and making the villagers to be self sufficient and develop business models for them to thrive. The enormous indigenous wealth in the villages needs to be tapped, which is sustainable and green.

As much as the pandemic has been a cause for death, despondency and destruction, there has also been increased amount of collaboration, cooperation and resilience. People have gone out of the way to help their neighbours and in this strife, there have emerged stories of compassion that have given hope. With digitalisation and less consumption of fossil fuels, there has been gross improvements in the environment. For the first time we have been able to breath fresh air.

We at iKure are committed to continue breathe this fresh air and are committed to do what it takes. We are people with courage, empathy and humility and healers of the mind, body and soul who look at the holistic approach to healthcare and combine the tradition with the modern. We combine human touch with technology and believe in the user experience of both the healers and the healed.

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September 11, 2018• Lifestyle

Health Data, an Antidote for Public Health System to Fight COVID Pandemic

 

 

 

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June 21, 2018• Lifestyle

Mucormycosis

 

 

 

 

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May 13, 2018• Staff Picks, Travel

The untold story of iKure beyond the narrow trails

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We were at the first mile in the last mile. Our car driver whom we lovingly called Nattu was in high spirits praising the new road which has recently found a new shape after the smoothen pitch. Soon his sunlit smile faded when the road started getting narrow after taking first few turns from the NH6  Highway. The journey continued, and my heart sank, more we drove in. The road was getting narrower and almost disappearing now and then. However, the golden wheat fields, field laden with marigold flowers, and the untamed river that followed us assured me of the hope that there is a way beyond. I was led by two team members who drove the motorbike, carefree but determined of the road ahead and the founder of the ‘Unicorn’, acknowledged as the ‘100 most Influential Leader 2020’ continuing his untiring efforts of handling the venture’s responsibilities over the phone, while I waited impatiently for the journey to get over through the narrow trails.

Finally, the stop arrived at a primary school in an unknown little village in Gologram in West Bengal. iKure’s mobile medical team was already in full gear attending the patients that have gathered for the eye and medical check-up. Two Doctors, with a Paramedicine staff, Health Worker, and Program in- Charge were busy registering patient’s vitals using AI enabled health tech devices.

Locational factors have an important bearing on the potential of healthcare supplies. In urban poor and remote locations, it is difficult for healthcare systems to attain the demands of critical services. Most of the journeys made by our beneficiaries are at substantial risk of fatal outcomes during emergency cases. Therefore for iKure, it is important to provide access to primary healthcare facilities through mobile medical teams that are usually set up in schools or in local administrative offices.

The pandemic in India is witnessing its second wave, people are creeping out of their shelters, still hesitant to explore beyond their safe zone, but this medical team has a message for all of us. Inspiring as they accept risk as part of their chosen job roles, hardly exhibiting concerns on their routine door-step schedule, at iKure’s medical camps and in hubs. The immense accreditations and support to fulfill the mission of iKure ‘Creating zero mortality in primary healthcare’ through their hands and the unwavering determination of their hearts is enough to bring smiles to our beneficiaries during the challenging times of the COVID-19.

Primary healthcare is the first line of defense to keep people safe. The primary healthcare system has the capacity to diagnose, track, and contain community outbreaks while providing essential services.

iKure is prioritizing its regular services through technology innovations, mass screening operations, and research interventions that use primary data to help identify and address the gaps and laying a strong foundation for primary healthcare to protect people from the next health threats.

iKure has treated more than a million patients with plans to open 200 clinics in the next three to four years. It is already offering health-tech solutions in Vietnam with plans to serve in other South-east Asian countries like Cambodia, Philippines, and Indonesia.

The journey way back home was different. I found Nattu’s face lit up again while he shared one of his journeys with the iKure’s medical team in Keshiary, in remote West Bengal. He recalled, he had to carry back home the team through a bamboo bridge that was half immersed due to the flood. Fearing the car might not find its way underneath the water, they waited till 2:00 am for the water to subside. And finally, when they returned, it was time again for another journey.

It might come across for many that Ratan Tata’s investment has been easy for iKure. But the immense trade-off, patience, and teamwork go without saying, they haven’t had it all yet. While the team is gearing up to scale-up and expand its operations, this investment is a huge encouragement for iKure as they believe, iKure’s services will make the real difference for the people who need it most, as access to primary healthcare will be the corner stone to confront the pandemic and the situation beyond it.

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August 11, 2017• Lifestyle

Covid-19 & iKure

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Covid-19 and the adaptation by iKure in the service offerings……with hints in the way ahead….

Preamble :

Covid-19 has churned out the whole human civilization into an abyss of indefinite uncertainty..withapalling incidents and consequences ,including an unacceptable record of deathsand sufferings worldwide, which has thrown mankind out of gear and the uphill struggle for a safe survival continues, with no sight of a vaccine yet and no definite medical guidelines to resort to, in order to tackle this pandemic in a manageable framework of confidence…within the medical fraternity.

Coupled with this disease menace, is the scenario of economic gloom arising out of job layouts,downsizing of companies, lack of new job prospects etc which is bringing in an enormous amount of despondency and negative affections of mind and body ,unheard of this kind earlier.

iKure being a population service provider enabled by Technology and research oriented objectives,has made an attempt to be a forerunner in the sector of healthcare in rendering its services, during such difficult times, to all stake holders…in more than one novel ways…backed by the skills and expertise of our employees from all walks of training and experience.

Ways in which iKure stood out to adapt to the current unprecedented crisis ..

•  Based on the three prongs of prevention…ie..social distancing/usage of barrier tools like masks & hand sanitizers..to say the minimum, iKure has embarked on a path of remote consultation for patients..through the new concept of Telemedicine..which has enabled a large no. of clients/patients to seek medical attention from the safe confines of their homes and the Physicians feeling safe at their point of presence.

•  In the events of some subjects/patients approaching our hubs/clinics, the safety measures have been strictly put in place,(with PPE-s etc) to ensure safety of all concerned and a smooth play of operations to continue as earlier…within the norms of recommended prevention guidelines.

•  Special measures have been put in place to render door step services( albeit with mutual protection of subjects & staff) to deliver medicinal items/ related consumables and any other medical attention/advice that may need at any point of time…through our field workers ( CHW-s).

•  Our Doctors have been attuned to the call of the times , to be sensitive towards our patients, at the same time being on guard to detect suspicious infected cases and do the needful as per the advised protocol of the health authorities.

•  Special projects are being undertaken with big business sectors ( such as realty and housing industry) to screen the blue collar workers for Covid-19 by means of well decided clinical vital parameters at site and follow the recommended protocols of suspicion of the infection in any of the persons screened. Our ground staff are physically attending such events with due precautions ,almost on a daily basis,thisfar,and providing a social service in a proactive approach to healthcare.

•  A good number of projects for population screening for the Covid-19 infection are on the way, across several locales in the nation, to provide such services with impunity.

•  Since a second resurge is feared in this country, as well as elsewhere,theGovt would need more and more private sector operators to enter a PPP in order to tackle the growing menace of this crisis.

•  Modalities could be……..allowing screening in the semi-urban areas on a request basis/enabling testing by the private sector liberally without much regulatory protocol and paperwork/leasing ground workers for day to day support to an organization like us, for more community approach to reach out the needy and non-privileged/helping in a proactive manner to set up small check up kiosks in prominent areas where most of the population are expected to visit…etc.

•  A recent glaring example of a PPP may be cited by mentioning the launch of a Telemedicine collaboration with theGovt of Nagaland, in joint efforts with another prominent Indian association, to serve the community of Nagaland,which is a hilly terrain basically, in seeking medical attention from Doctors at Govt Health Centresthere.,,by means of remote consultations on general and specific health issues.

•  To boost the morale of our staff, iKure had arranged a whole remote session with a ‘clinical psychologist’,to address the common feelings of our employees during this pandemic season, where ‘work from home’ has been the norm, so that alongwith their psyche the productivity does not sag and they can adapt themselves to cope up with any such mental issues in their stride.

The way ahead………

• iKure wishes to plan with foresight ventures involving our service offerings in other states and may be beyond Indian shores based on the success of our initiatives this far.

•  More and more Technological advances in the form of devices and tools are being incorporated in our operations, to assist the ground workers for a quicker and better screening with results approaching to the 100th percentile. A robust Telemedicine platform is fine tuned, to enable Physicians to get universal access to an easy going software for navigation and patient prescribing…with maintenance of EMR.

•  Work in the Non-communicable Disease area ( NCD) which is the need of the hour in this country ,keeping the Covid-19 affection in mind, is being planned, since this particular virus affects the CVS in a major way, along with other co-morbidities, as surfacing from those who contracted the disease and those who recovered from the illness !

•  Some critical research areas are also been looked into, which engages the data acquired in re-guiding us through AI and/or ML mechanisms,
on few members of NCD-s..as the scope may be obtained…such as Diabetes/Hypertension etc.

•  Stake holder partnerships are being explored by our business associates for more and more Govt/Pvt. Collaborations and grant providers ,based on our track record of success and innumerable accolades that theOrganisation has achieved by dint of merit amidst tough competitions.

Since the pandemic is far from over yet…we do not know what is in store for mankind ,once the Virus leaves civilization !

Whether we have really achieved Herd Immunity..whether we have managed to eradicate the virus for good..what are the residual signs/symptoms of those who have been affected by the Virus..are only issues that time will tell..and help us unfold..but till then, iKure shall continue with its offerings in healthcare in all possible ways….both traditional and innovative…in nature…to mitigate the health issues in the post-pandemic era.

Dr. Lalmohan Banerjee
Sr. Medical Adviser & Medical Director, iKure

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