The wheels of time have ensured that change in the world we live in is constant for the residents of Barak Valley, nowhere is this fact more evident than in the field of health care and medical sciences. And not just evident, the changes that have come in the recent times have also been welcome ones. Neurosurgeon, Dr. Sambuddha Dhar has helmed one such vector of change – adoption of digital services. Yes, just his mere presence in the region has bolstered the hopes of people and opened new avenues of health care, that were hitherto unavailable in the region, but on top of that, his efforts to make accessing this care easier has been nothing short of godsend for his patients.
In the past two years, we have seen developments in this regard, especially, in the area of booking doctors. But these developments have been largely rudimentary and still lack in critical areas which cause patients issues in scheduling, getting assurance and even proper planning, especially for those who visit from outside the Barak Valley region. There still remained that distance in communication between the doctor and their prospective patients seeking their care. Dr. Sambuddha Dhar, with his goal to make a holistic improvement to his delivery of care in the region, opted for a more direct and easier channel of communication that would improve the whole lifecycle of care for his patients.
His vision for digital innovation has enabled him to create websites and other platforms which enables patients to have direct access to him. Booking using simple QR codes, easy scheduling and rescheduling, etc. are all areas of care that would be improved through this initiative. Combined with his disposition to provide holistic care, not just through medical and clinical intervention but through empathetic communication and building effective support systems, the digital platform has enabled an ecosystem of care that has the potential to change the lives of his patients for the better. His efforts in this regard, have started to bear fruit as well and not just through the statistical analysis of the number of lives saved but, in fact, through the responses of the very people whose lives have been touched for the better by the doctor. Dr. Dhar’s efforts to offer a sympathetic ear and an empathetic disposition to his patients, even at the end of a harrowing and taxing day right till the very end, has ensured that social media channels are filled with praises of his care. Often known as the Father of the Neurosurgery in Barak Valley, Dr. Sambuddha Dhar has found the right balance between heart and technology that enables the highest degree of care for his patients which has left its indelible mark on the lives of the people that receive this care. We only hope that the good doctor continues on his vision to make neurosurgery and neurology as a whole a more accessible avenue of care for those who truly need it.
