AMARAVATI, APRIL 29:In a significant shift from curative to preventive healthcare, the Andhra Pradesh Health Department has approved a comprehensive citizen health screening scheme under which each identified individual will undergo 47 different medical tests annually, delivered through 104 Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) deployed across the State.

Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav gave his approval to the scheme on Wednesday. The initiative, which will entail an annual expenditure of ₹162.72 crore, is aimed at fulfilling a commitment made by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to assess the current health status of citizens through comprehensive medical examinations and take preventive action before diseases set in.

Scope and coverage

Under the scheme, a total of 56.4 lakh persons will be screened every year. This includes individuals identified through the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) survey as either already suffering from or at risk of various ailments, as well as students residing in welfare and educational hostels.

A marked departure from earlier practice

Until now, the 104 MMUs conducted only six types of tests once every 15 days at the village level — random blood sugar, urine sugar, haemoglobin, a rapid diagnostic test for diseases such as malaria, urine albumin, and a pregnancy confirmation test. These tests were largely carried out using rapid kits that often yielded imprecise results. Individual disease profiles and electronic health records at the village, mandal, and district levels were not being maintained.

The revamped scheme will replace this limited framework with a battery of 47 tests across 11 health parameters for each identified individual. The tests include eight liver function tests (LFT), six urine analysis tests, five lipid profile tests, five white blood cell count tests, five red blood cell count tests, four electrolyte tests, three renal function tests (RFT), three glucose tests, two coagulation tests, one ESR test for infection markers, and five other tests.

Disease profiles and health records

Based on the results of these comprehensive tests, individual disease profiles and electronic health records will be prepared for each citizen. Under the Sanjeevani scheme, personalised advisories will be issued covering immediate precautions and long-term preventive measures. Minister Satya Kumar Yadav described the launch of this screening initiative as a step of considerable importance in safeguarding the health of the State's population.

Role of service provider

In the first phase, covering a period of five years, the service provider currently operating the 104 MMU services through a fleet of 904 vehicles will be required to install, at its own cost, a semi-automatic bio-chemistry analyser, a CBC machine with three-part analyser, a microscope, and an incubator in each vehicle. The provider will also supply the necessary reagents and consumables for conducting all 47 tests. Each vehicle is expected to screen 20 persons per day across 26 working days a month, covering 520 individuals monthly.

Swift rollout directed

Minister Satya Kumar Yadav directed senior health department officials to take immediate steps to operationalise the scheme at the earliest. Officials informed the Minister that efforts were underway to launch the services within two months.