Bhubaneswar: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) with support of AIIMS Bhubaneswar and State government would set up a high-quality patient-centric integrated model for emergency care systems across five districts of India including Puri in Odisha, an official said on Wednesday.
ICMR would also develop such emergency health care systems in Ludhiana (Punjab), Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh), Vadodara (Gujarat), and Pondicherry under its national health research priority project.
The initiative will enhance emergency care by improving logistics, boosting healthcare provider competencies, integrating information technology and artificial intelligence tools, and mapping facilities, said AIIMS Bhubaneswar executive director Ashutosh Biswas.
Key components of the project include improving ambulance services, increasing community demand, and training first-level responders, he said.
The project will address seven critical emergencies: heart attack, brain stroke, trauma, snake bite, poisoning, respiratory emergencies, and neonatal and maternal emergencies, added Biswas.
AIIMS Bhubaneswar, in collaboration with ICMR and the state government, is spearheading the project in Odisha.
A research team led by Arvind Kumar Singh, additional professor at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, has been formed to develop and implement this model in collaboration with the state government, officials said.
Today, Biswas unveiled the vision document of INDIA EMS and Training Manuals, advocating for the integration of geo-tagging systems, IT, HR, and HMIS. He emphasized improvements in transport, ALS facility ambulances, immediate response, and community education on basic life support.
Dr. Bijay Kumar Mohapatra stressed the importance of enhancing the emergency healthcare system in Odisha, and Dr. Nilakantha Mishra highlighted the need to integrate the INDIA-EMS with national programs and scale it across all districts. Dr. Santosh Kumar Mishra addressed the gaps in ambulance care, calling for better paramedic engagement and training.
Dr. Meenakshi Sharma provided an overview of the INDIA-EMS project, highlighting the Hub & Spoke model and AI applications to tackle seven time-sensitive acute emergency conditions.
Dr. Vishwajeet Kumar underscored the importance of implementation research in transforming emergency healthcare, proposing a bottom-up approach to understand barriers and health-seeking behavior.
This project represents a significant step towards revolutionizing emergency healthcare in India through collaboration, advanced technology, and comprehensive training.