Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University signs MoU with DPH for medical research

CHENNAI: Health minister Ma Subramanian inaugurated the dissemination workshop on "Shifting Landscapes/Innovations in Public Health Research" at the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University on Tuesday.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University to provide guidelines and financial support for medical researches and to support the researchers, doctors, nurses, medical field workers, etc.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university said that a new building for research can be constructed at the cost of Rs 50 crore in the university campus.

The place will be selected for a new building and it will be put into use as for medical research.

A book containing research articles has also been planned to be released by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine after the announcements of conducting 100 studies in 100 days in December last year as the DPH turned 100 years old.

Health minister said that regarding these studies, doctors, nurses and medical staff working in private and government hospitals were invited to participate in the studies and these studies have been presented. The studies on maternal health, Infectious Diseases and Communicable Diseases, quality control and medical services have received. The experts from reputed institutes like IIT, MMC, NIRT, JIPMER have acted as mentors to these research scholars and 40 studies have been published in the first phase in the form of a book.

Health minister quoted WHO chief scientist Dr Sowmya Swaminathan saying that the impact of COVID-19 cannot be said to end today or tomorrow. It is going to keep occuring and we are in a situation to live along with it. Even if, in future such a circumstance occurs our life has to move on. In such a situation the doctors knowledge and education are used to do researches which impact the society at large. So, the studies have been launched in English as a book now and the Tamil version is expected soon.

It is to be implemented as a guidebook for Government Hospitals and Government Medical College Hospitals.

Talking about the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, the minister said that the scheme is being implemented in 853 government hospitals, 969 private hospitals. As many as 1,513 medical and surgical procedures, 8 specialized surgeries, 52 comprehensive diagnostic procedures including transplants are covered under this scheme.

The Chief Minister wants the insurance scheme to reach 100 percent of the population and at present, 1.43 crore families are benefitted under this scheme. As per his instructions, a committee has been constituted to improve the reach of health insurance scheme.

Professor T Sundararaman, former Executive Director of National Health System Resource Centre, New Delhi, has been appointed as the Chairman of this committee along with health secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Dr J Amalorpavanathan, member, State Planning Commission, Dr Mohammed Rela, Dr Aravindan from Kauvery Hospital, and Project Director, Tamil Nadu Health System Pwroject. This committee will provide various suggestions regarding the improvement of the insurance scheme.