National Heart Foundation Sylhet (NHFS) aims to implement an Outreach Program (OP), a continuous holistic humanitarian assistance program that is a combination of appropriate, targeted interventions that is aimed at not only improving the health and wellness of the population thru targeted healthcare services and employment-oriented capacity building. OP was designed to outreach services at the 11 upazilas in Sylhet Division by the Physicians and Nurses as Hub and Spokes. National Heart Foundation Sylhet is as Hub and the 11 upazilas - Balaganj Upazila, Beanibazar Upazila, Bishwanath Upazila, Companiganj Upazila, Fenchuganj Upazila, Golabganj Upazila, Gowainghat Upazila, Jaintiapur Upazila, Kanaighat Upazila, Sylhet Sadar Upazila, Zakiganj Upazila – as spokes.
As hub, NHFS will provide monthly camps and daily Telemedicine services for the spokes. Telemedicine is one of the remarkable achievements by information and communication technologies (ICT). Telemedicine literally means “healing at a distance”. The World Health Organization has adopted the following definition of telemedicine:
“The delivery of health care services, where distance is a critical factor, by all health professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation, and for the continuing education of health care providers, all in the interest of advancing the health of individuals and their communities.”
The monthly camps and Telemedicine access to health advice and treatment for all general illnesses, as well as health education for disease prevention. Need-based healthcare services include antenatal and postnatal care, screening and treatment of communicable diseases, screening and treatment of non-communicable diseases such as Diabetes, Hypertension, Pulmonary diseases, and Renal diseases, as well as Vaccination for children and a new micro-insurance scheme for long-term sustainability of the program.