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Mobile Health and Wellness Clinic Debuts in Pune for Clinical Research and Community-Based Care - 07/25/2016

Mobile Health and Wellness Clinic Debuts in Pune for Clinical Research and Community-Based Care

Project provides a model for innovative health research, care and wellness
Release Date: July 25, 2016
a home visit in Pune.
JHU-BJGMC clinical research partnership during a home visit in Pune
Credit: Courtesy of Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education

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The Maryland-based health care informatics company CTIS and its founders, Raj and Bharti Shah, have collaborated with the Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education and Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College to equip and dispatch a custom-designed mobile health care services van in the state of Maharashtra in India.

The mobile clinic, the parties say, is designed to address the fact that India assumes a large burden of chronic and infectious diseases, leading the world in deaths related to tuberculosis, cervical cancer and diabetes, and ranking third in the number of people with HIV. While there has been progress in improving India’s clinical infrastructure in the last few decades, they say, the severity of disease and the sheer numbers of patients affected present challenges to addressing health care needs in underserved communities, underscoring the need for innovative approaches, such as mobile clinical care, that augment traditional service delivery models.


Equipped with a $100,000 donation from CTIS and the Shahs, the mobile clinic features advanced laboratory equipment for disease diagnoses, including a GeneXpert rapid TB diagnostic system. The van includes other modern care and treatment capabilities, including mobile radiology equipment.

While mobile clinics sponsored by corporate hospitals and charity organizations have been deployed in Maharashtra primarily to provide health care in rural areas, the group behind this effort say it is novel, in that it will strategically enhance community outreach for tuberculosis screening, research and care, and provide wellness services. Maharashtra is among India’s top regions for cases of drug-sensitive and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and the service area for the clinic comprises a population of 7 million people, including the city of Pune and surrounding villages.

“A mobile clinic provides a private and confidential environment for community-based health care and research,” says Ajay Chandanwale, dean of Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College. “We are thrilled to collaborate with the Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education and Raj and Bharti Shah, and appreciate the generous donation of the mobile clinic.”


Children, adolescents and adults, including pregnant and post-partum women, will be served. The mobile clinic’s capabilities will augment ongoing tuberculosis research, including monitoring households with people who have patients with TB and multidrug-resistant TB. While such research is critical for informing tuberculosis control strategies and science at the national level, the mobile clinic will also be used for targeted, community-based health and wellness programs that promote healthful living, Chandanwale says.

“We are highly committed to affecting broad changes in India’s ability to address serious health issues while simultaneously providing wellness programs that serve communities,” says CTIS CEO Raj Shah. “CTIS is pleased to provide a tool that can be used to deliver preventive services, health screening and care where they are needed.”

Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education Director Robert Bollinger, M.D., M.P.H., says the support from the Shahs will lead to improvements in health and wellness in Maharashtra, as well as provide a model for innovative health research, care and wellness for the rest of India. “The Shah mobile clinic really extends the reach of health services for communities and patients with limited resources, and it will be a tremendous asset to the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College-Johns Hopkins University research partnership.”


About CTIS

CTIS, based in Rockville, Maryland, provides informatics solutions for clinical trials and research, and empowers patients and providers with technology-based health care solutions. Through the use of IT, it helps organizations produce efficient and effective outcomes. Its business is the capture, storage and use of information in health and biomedical science. It offers a patient-driven approach to informatics — improving privacy, security and safety. www.ctisinc.com
 

About the Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education

The Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education is dedicated to improving health outcomes in resource-limited communities through clinical research and training, and by empowering health care providers and health researchers to develop and lead advancements in clinical research, practice and policy. www.ccghe.net 
 

About Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College

Located in Pune, India, Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College is among the top 10 medical schools in India. It is affiliated with a state-funded, 1,500-bed tertiary care public hospital, Sassoon General Hospital, which has a large outpatient program composed of 21 clinics and links to multiple NGOs in the community. The partnership between the Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education and Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College was initially established in 1999 for HIV studies and now investigates other infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases and comorbidities. www.bjmcpune.org

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