Kerala health centres now send blood samples by post: A game-changing diagnostic shift

Kozhikode: When Radha (name changed), a resident of Chelavoor, went to the nearby health centre for a check-up, she was advised to take a thyroid test. The centre did not have that facility. However, the doctor said that if she came the next day, a sample could be collected at the health centre’s lab and sent to the district’s general hospital. When she asked how, the reply was that it would be sent by post.

The new system introduced in health centres under the state health department is the hub-and-spoke model.

Blood is collected from health centres, packed properly and sent using the Postal Department’s support to taluk hospitals, general hospitals and regional labs in the district.

Samples taken in health-centre labs are sent by post and reach the testing centres within 24 hours. They are dispatched in controlled temperatures. The postal department uses the direct bagging system to ensure that samples reach the hub labs without delay.

Once tested, results are sent online to the health centre. There is also a mechanism for the sample boxes to be returned to the spokes. A hub is the facility where the blood is tested; a spoke is the lab where the sample is collected.

Ordinary health centres themselves have facilities for more than 40 tests. Samples for additional tests are sent elsewhere. Since this is currently in the pilot phase, many centres are offering these tests free of cost. Later, BPL patients will receive the tests for free, while others will be charged at concessional rates.

This system helps rural patients avoid long travel for multiple tests. It also enables them to get expensive tests done free of cost at government hubs without depending on private labs, according to Health Department officials.

Around 1,300 health-centre labs in the state are part of this network. At present, as the system is in its initial phase, many health centres send blood samples only once a week. Patients are asked to come on the designated morning. Samples are collected and handed over together to the Postal Department, which delivers them to the testing centres functioning as hubs. Samples are routed based on the facilities available at each hub.

The labs operate in coordination with the Hospital Management Committees. All financial transactions, including registration, are handled through the Postal Department after enrolling as a bulk customer.