Coronavirus in Mumbai: Telemedicine services for Jains launched

Mumbai: The Jain International Organisation (JIO) and the Jain Doctors' Federation (JDF) have set up an online consultation service, predominantly for Jains unable to visit hospitals for check-ups, since thousands from this community have contracted coronavirus across Mumbai.

Dr Prince Surana, CEO of the Surana Group of Hospitals and also a member of the Jain Doctors’ Federation, said they had launched a helpline number for free home Covid care. “Community members can get online consultations and free medicines through this helpline. To facilitate better frontline response, a team of 15 Jain doctors will work in rotation, to offer treatment and counselling,” he said.

The scheme was launched on Monday by Jain monk Naypadmasagarji Maharaj, at an online meeting attended by 300 directors attached to the Jain International Organisation.

According to community officials, six lakh Jains in Mumbai alone will benefit from this scheme. At the meeting, Naypadmasagarji requested the nearly 6,000 Jain doctors attached to various hospitals across the city to provide counselling to community members and get them access to hospital beds.

He further said families unable to pay hospital bills or visit hospitals, can make a 'missed' call to this helpline, following which they will be sent an online form, which they must fill and upload, with the necessary documents. “This service is predominantly for Jains and they need to fill a form and upload it, following which they will get a unique registration code. After this process, we will connect them to a doctor for online consultation,” Dr Surana added.

The community’s religious leaders have also announced a special medical insurance scheme. By paying an annual premium of Rs 2,200, community members can get a medical cover of Rs 3 lakh. A cashless form of insurance, it will include the entire medical treatment, quarantine expenses for 14 days, caregiving after being discharged from the hospital and even home quarantine expenses. In the past two days, 50,000 people have already enrolled for the policy.