IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

After the ceremony held on Wednesday to open the new hospital in Fuvahmulah, Health Minister Dr Jameel told Haveeru that telemedicine kiosks have already been installed in Dhaal atoll Kudahuvadhoo, Baa atoll Eydhafushi and Lhaviyani atoll Naifaru to provide the service in the islands.

Final preparations are underway in the islands to begin providing the service under Integrated Human Development Project, she added.

The pandemic has certainly put a focus on healthcare and health-related products and services.

But there is still a way to go to increase the adoption of health tech in Malaysia which may slow the trajectory towards digitalisation in the space, particularly in areas such as telemedicine and teleconsultation, which are considered as an efficient way for doctors to reach out to their patients.

Hospitals in Malaysia should consider investing more in telehealth to improve healthcare delivery and efficiency in the country.

Telehealth or telemedicine involves the use of proprietary software and electronic devices with audio and visual capabilities to assist in the provision of medical care to patients.

Malaysian Medical Association president Datuk Dr N.K.S. Tharmaseelan said the telehealth system could support hospitals in providing primary care and ensure a more efficient use of resources and facilities in an already-stretched public healthcare system.

Aiming for a more comprehensive telehealth system, the Minister noted, “Not only are we planning to expand the ways people receive advice, we are also looking at having a wider range of health professionals available for people to talk to, such as pharmacists.”

The Prime minister said the service will prove beneficial for the rural population as it would provide comfortable and easy excess to health services to the people living in remote districts.

It has been difficult to take quality and affordable health services by establishing infrastructure due to geographical and technical problem, he said inaugurating the telemedicine service and SAARC telemedicine programme in the capital.

The SAARC telemedicine centre has been established with an assistance of Rs 3.05 Crores from the Government of India under the SAARC telemedicine network project, according to Indian Embassy here.

Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL), a prime engineering and consultancy company under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, is the implementing agency for this prestigious project.

Built on the principal of seamless integration between the three governing bodies of healthcare delivery, The 2010 Everest Extreme Expedition includes The Clinical Team, The Technology Team, and The Administrative Team.

The hospital has started tele-medicine service at 22 districts of Himal and three districts khotang, Sindhuli and Achham of Pahad.

Paramedic Bimal Gautam of the hospital said telemedicine service has been launched in 25 districts as a trial to impart health facility in rural areas.

According to a statement issued by the foundation, telemedicine involves the use of broadband technology that provides real-time high speed access for the transfer of medical imaging, video, data and voice. The technology enables e-learning and training through video consultation. Expert physicians from USA have volunteered for this project.

The device was recently on the cover of the journal Lab on a Chip. I spoke about the cell phone microscope with Aydogan Ozcan, assistant professor of electrical engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and a researcher at UCLA’s California NanoSystems Institute.

Throughout the world, the growing use of Telehealth is playing its part in supporting integrated health care, empowering patients and bringing health care “closer to home”. It facilitates beneficial changes to the patterns of workforce deployment and enables the delivery of new modes of healthcare delivery such as this Government’s Whanau Ora and Better Sooner More Convenient policies. Telehealth has the potential to reduce demand for high cost services and improve the healthcare of New Zealanders with long-term conditions.

In what Michael Sullivan, telehealth clinical leader for West Coast and Canterbury district health boards, said would be the biggest implementation of telemedicine to date, nurses and GPs on the West Coast will instead be provided with a low-cost system that will let them consult other GPs and specialists in the South Island via video from their desktops.

The results from the first New Zealand pilot of telehealth technology have just been released by health innovator Healthcare of New Zealand.

William Hall, who has chronic pulmonary disease and was one of the people who trialled the technology says, “Since I’ve been on telehealth my health has improved dramatically. I got the monitor 12 months ago and if I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t be here today.”

This week, Healthcare of New Zealand, a leader and innovator in community health provision, in conjunction with Lake Taupo Primary Health organisation (PHO) will launch the first-ever New Zealand telehealth pilot for 10 clients in the Turangi/Taupo area.

Telehealth is a home-based service that assists health professionals to closely monitor a client’s medical condition, and detect changes before they become serious and require hospitalisation.

Making the assertion last week in a lecture entitled; "E - Learning and Medical Practice"at the 9th Faculty Conference/Annual Gathering of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi- Araba Lagos, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, MTN, Dr. Bola Akingbade said Telemedicine would benefit both patient, healthcare systems and the society at large.

Prof. Anthony V Pais, a Senior Consultant Surgical Oncology from the Hospital, who spoke last week during the opening of a new centre for Nigerians, said telemedicine will dissociate financial status and quality healthcare.

"Telemedicine involves use of medical information transferred from one site to another through electronic communications to improve patient health care, including diagnosis and treatment while reducing cost. We discuss any patient every week with a group of doctors and this will reduce the rate at which people seek for better care abroad."

A plan to develop seven ‘pathfinder’ sites to lead the widespread adoption of telehealth in England has been scrapped and replaced with a new scheme after progress stalled in mid-2013.

NHS England will instead promote a wider suite of telehealth services in areas where ‘energy already exists’ for the technologies.

The adviser to President Daniel Ortega for social affairs, Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, said that collaboration is part of the agreements signed recently at talks among officials from both governments in Moscow.