To improve healthcare services in the remote parts of the country, the Planning Commission has suggested adopting telemedicine by using software applications such as Skype in its report on health for the 12th Five-Year plan.
Telemedicine is the remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology. The 12th Plan starts on 1 April.
“Computer with Internet connectivity should be ensured in every primary health centre within this Plan period; sub-centres will have extended connectivity through cellphones, depending on their state of readiness and skill set of their functionaries,” the report said. “The availability of Skype and other similar applications for audio-visual interaction makes telemedicine a near-universal possibility and could be used to ameliorate the professional isolation of health personnel posted in remote and rural areas.”
Technology will play an important role in reducing the isolation of doctors working in remote parts of the country, according to the health ministry. “Health informatics is a priority area for the government, and within that, telemedicine is crucial in improving access to doctors,” said health secretary P.K. Pradhan. “With telemedicine, patients will not have to unnecessarily travel to reach tertiary or secondary care centres.”
Health informatics is the use of computer technologies in healthcare to store, share, transmit and analyse clinical knowledge and data.
While telemedicine has been identified as a thrust area, the health ministry and the department of information technology will be working closely to “develop procurement policies, permitting use of open source technology supporting software that is constantly evolving”, the report by India’s apex planning agency said.
Additionally, the government should rely on India’s extensive telecom network to speed up transmission of data and improve connectivity between healthcare providers and patients, it said.
“Services such as information on empanelled providers in an area, advice on closest provider in case of emergency, advice on healthy living and preventive practices should be made available on telephone on one standard number (like 100 for police) in each state,” the report stated.
There should be a “legal framework in place before we try to promote telemedicine”, said Dr Devi Shetty, chairman and managing director of Bangalore’s Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital. He has been using telemedicine to treat patients in Kolkata.
“For this, it is important to get the medical council to allow the doctors to prescribe medication remotely, perhaps a digital signature can be used,” Shetty said on phone.
The Medical Council of India monitors medical practice in the country, among other things.
“It’s a matter of time before patients seek medical consultation from their bedroom through Skype with the doctor in the hospital,” Shetty said. “There will be a paradigm shift in the way medical treatment is offered across the world through telemedicine.”
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Vidya Krishnan
Quelle/Source: Livemint, 06.03.2012
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