Haryana Tele-ECG Project Expands Rural Heart Care

A new public-private partnership in Haryana has brought portable tele-ECG devices to nearly 600 government health facilities to bridge the rural cardiac care gap.

The Rollout

The Haryana government tied up with health-tech startup Sunfox Technologies on May 29 to introduce the Spandan One tele-ECG network across primary health centres, community health centres, and hospitals. The devices connect to smartphones and tablets, allowing frontline workers to conduct tests that yield clinician-reviewed results in under three minutes. As of September 17, the network recorded 33,854 tests, identifying 9,287 abnormal readings and 1,342 critical cases.

Patient Impact

Patients at remote centres now receive rapid screenings and emergency medications, such as blood thinners and clotbusters, before being referred to tertiary facilities. Kuldeep Singh, former Director General of Health Services in Haryana, reported a 20% drop in emergency department deaths at district hospitals as patients arrive stabilized. Startup CEO Rajat Jain noted that dashboard data revealed unexpected trends, including high cardiac issue rates in individuals aged 30 to 49 and equal risk levels among women in that bracket.

Challenges

Despite widespread adoption, the program faces hurdles. Some facilities require repeat tests for accurate readings, and the state nursing union initially resisted nurse-operated ECGs due to vacant technician posts, though the DGHS mandated that healthcare workers perform these life-saving checks.