A recent study by Crisil says that focus on telemedicine is the key to improving efficiency and widening the reach of healthcare, especially to rural India, which will otherwise remain isolated.
Sudhir Nair, head of Crisil Research, said that with a large proportion of India's population residing in rural areas where specialists have no reach, telemedicine will be the only feasible way to bridge the rural-urban health divide.
Telemedicine uses telecommunication channels like video, voice and interactive Internet to bring latest treatment and mechanisms to a remote centre. Specialists from an urban location can guide junior doctors or local urban para-medical personnel to perform small, yet complex surgeries and consultations over various channels.
Nair said that by 2011, along with a low ratio of doctors to population, there is also going to be an acute shortage of nurses that will worsen the situation.
A few medical institutions like the Apollo Hospital group have done pioneering work in telemedicine. Apollo is credited with being the first to set up a rural telemedicine centre in the village of Aragonda in Andhra Pradesh.
Nair, however, says that telemedicine models on a standalone basis will find it difficult to tackle the huge volumes in the near future, and he instead advocates an integrated healthcare model as more viable.
An integrated telemedicine model will involve active partnership with a robust telecom partner, which will give seamless connectivity, the most vital input for such a project.
Quelle/Source: Newindpress, 19.09.2007
