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.

AMARAVATI, APRIL 24: Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav met Professor Y.Y. Teo of the Department of Public Health at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on the sidelines of his Singapore visit on Thursday, discussing ways to align the State's healthcare system with global standards.

Prof. Teo is a member of the high-level advisory council constituted by the State government to guide reforms in the health sector.

During the meeting, Mr. Yadav briefed Prof. Teo on the range of initiatives being undertaken by the Telugu Desam-led coalition government under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to strengthen public health delivery in the State.

AI, digital records, and cancer screening

The minister outlined the State's adoption of artificial intelligence in healthcare services for economically weaker patients, and the use of the NCD-04 programme for early detection of oral, breast, and cervical cancers through systematic screening. He also spoke about the ongoing development of electronic health records to consolidate patient data across the State's health network.

Mr. Yadav drew particular attention to the STEMI programme, under which patients arriving at government hospitals within the golden hour of a cardiac event are provided a costly clot-dissolving injection free of charge — a measure aimed at improving survival outcomes for heart attack patients who cannot afford private care.

Gates Foundation partnership

The minister also apprised Prof. Teo of the memorandum of understanding signed with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to improve healthcare delivery in the State, and the steps being taken in furtherance of that agreement.

Mr. Yadav urged Prof. Teo to offer specific recommendations and best-practice guidance that could be incorporated into the State's evolving health policy framework. Prof. Teo expressed satisfaction with the direction of the State government's approach to public health reform.

The meeting is expected to pave the way for deeper academic and technical collaboration between the State government and NUS in strengthening Andhra Pradesh's healthcare infrastructure in the coming years.