Healthcare by Heartfulness – a Free-of-Charge Covid Medical Consultation App Launched – Marking the Global Wellness Day

by Suman Gupta

Mumbai, June, 2021:  Coinciding with Global Wellness Day (celebrated on second Saturday of  June every year),  Heartfulness group of organizations has launched “Healthcare by Heartfulness” Covid Care app to provide covid consultation and tele-medicine support along with its helpline , “Voice that Cares”, to offer medical consultation services to those who need it during these stressful times. The free-of-charge service is managed by 1500+ Heartfulness certified trainers and medical professionals from the Heartfulness Institute. Healthcare by Heartfulness was launched by Mrs. Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director Bharat Biotech International, and Heartfulness Guide, Kamlesh Patel (Daaji).

During these trying circumstances, tele-medicine support will provide timely assistance, the right clinical consultation, and alleviate the challenges faced by the individuals seeking help. Easy access to a virtual doctor’s appointment will also reduce the burden on the existing healthcare systems.

The Healthcare by Heartfulness app provides free covid patient consultation anywhere, 24×7, 365 days a year.  Once a patient makes a request on the app for doctor consultation, the patient can track their waiting time for services through real-time alerts. The patient receives a call-back from the healthcare staff when it is their turn and can take consultation remotely. The Healthcare by Heartfulness app also allows patients to request assistance in their preferred language when they are not comfortable with English. Through the app’s messaging system, the patient can message the healthcare staff and also view the details of their prescription. During its first phase, the app provides consultations with a panel of 1000+ experts of international repute.

Launching the app, Mrs. Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director Bharat Biotech International, said, “I am honoured and humbled to be a part of this initiative. I commend the Heartfulness Institute and the volunteers who have made this initiative possible. I wish the app is successful in decoding the right medical information for the people, which is extremely important in today’s times. This initiative will go a long way in helping and supporting every family that uses the app.”

Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Kamlesh D Patel also known as Daaji, Global Guide of Heartfulness, said, “At Heartfulness we always strive to strengthen the community. Today, humanity needs our support in terms of resources and medical assistance. I am grateful to all Heartfulness volunteers and medical professionals that are making this initiative successful. Together, we hope to make a positive impact during these difficult times.”

The app will soon allow patients to opt for notifications via Telegram to save costs, make consultation requests for multiple specialties, request for beds, and oxygen supply. Time slots and availability of specialist doctors will be published on the app for patients to book appointments. The app will also include covid resources such as testing locations, covid screening tools, Govt. updates and news related to covid-19.

Launched last year, “Voice that Cares” is a toll-free helpline that assists people and provides a listening space to help people in times of emotional turmoil and stress. Along with the app launch, the helpline has also been extended to provide covid-consultation and tele-medicine support.  Currently, the helpline anticipates approximately 12,000-15,000 calls a month. Doctors, coordinators, and volunteers worldwide will join the program and offer their services through an email at Healthcare@heartfulness.org.

Voice that Cares launched last year continues to assist people in multiple cities with the service being available in respective regional languages, including English, Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, and Marathi. Apart from the app citizens can also call 1800-121-3492 to seek covid consultation or any other medical advice

Last year, the Heartfulness Institute and Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM), launched the ‘Breathe Safe’ initiative- one of India’s largest N-95 mask donation campaigns. They donated over 7 lakh N-95 masks and more than 2500 PPE kits to healthcare workers across 38 locations in 14 states. The initiative also supplied more than 1.5 lakh meal packs and food supplies to migrant workers. So far, Heartfulness Institute and ROCF have donated more than 10,00,000+ meal packs across India.

Heartfulness Institute has also conducted community sensitization programs since the beginning of the pandemic. The organization through the Heartfulness wellness portal has conducted online workshops webinars for various institutions,hospitals, colleges, NGOs, corporate organizations, and senior living facilities. These workshops addressed the psycho-emotional challenges of the pandemic like stress, uncertainty, anxiety while building resilience through relaxation and heart-based meditation techniques. The initiative positively impacted over 9000 beneficiaries, including youth. The Heartfulness Institute continues to engage in humanitarian and Covid-relief initiatives such as meditation practice, wellness webinars, and online stress management workshops. Heartfulness Institute is also collecting donations for ongoing relief work.

About Heartfulness:  Heartfulness offers a simple set of meditative practices and lifestyle changes, first developed at the turn of the twentieth century and formalized into teaching through Shri Ram Chandra Mission in 1945 in India with a goal to bring peace, happiness and wisdom one heart at a time. These practices are a modern form of Yoga designed to support contentment, inner calm and stillness, compassion, courage, and clarity of thought, as the first step towards a purposeful life. They are simple and easily adopted and are appropriate for people from all walks of life, cultures, religious beliefs and economic situations, who are over the age of fifteen. Ongoing training in the Heartfulness practices is going on at thousands of schools and colleges, and over 100,000 professionals are meditating in corporations, non-governmental and government bodies worldwide. More than 5,000 Heartfulness Centres are supported by many thousands of certified volunteer trainers and millions of practitioners in 160 countries.