A Diagnosis That Nearly Went Home in a Pocket
Murugan, 58
He was told at a camp that his blood pressure was dangerous. He put the slip in his shirt pocket and went back to work. A follow-up call two weeks later changed the outcome.
- 212
- people screened that day
- 38
- new hypertension findings
- 71%
- referrals completed after calls
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Murugan attended a screening camp because it was in his village and it was free. He left with a reading high enough to warrant immediate treatment, and no particular intention of acting on it.
The problem with camps
A camp produces diagnoses. Diagnoses are not treatment. Someone who feels well has very little reason to act on a number written on a slip of paper.
The two-week call
A volunteer rang him fourteen days later. That call is the only reason he attended the health centre, and it cost a fraction of what the camp itself did.
What we changed
Follow-up calls are now inside the camp budget rather than an afterthought, and completion of referral is the number we report — not attendance.
Where he is now
He is on medication, his readings have come down, and he has persuaded two neighbours to attend the next camp.
“I felt fine. A piece of paper telling me otherwise did not seem urgent.”