The facility was launched in December 2005 to improve the health care service in remote areas and to lessen the health care expenses in the state with the help of information technology. The initiative received good response in the beginning. But with response slowly declining five of the nodal units in Malappuram were closed down.
The government had set up 24 nodal centres in government hospitals in the 14 districts. In Kozhikode, the centres are functioning in Koyilandy Taluk Hospital and at Medical College Hospital.
The facility enables the conduct of tele-consultation and the continuing medical education programme in the state. The nodal centres have been connected to specialty hospitals through the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) dial-up connection. A patient sitting at a centre in any of the taluk hospitals can consult experts in the four specialty hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram -- Sree Chithira Tirunal Institute of Medical Science, Medical College Hospital, Regional Cancer Centre and Mental Health Centre.
The facility is also making use of the telemedicine software MERCURY for the creation and transferring of the EMR from the telemedicine remote nodal centre to the super specialty centre.
"We facilitate patients at nodal centres and experts at super specialty hospitals to interact through video conferencing. At least five consultations are conducted every month The patients would be able to interact with any experts in cancer , neurology, cardiology specialty they want to,'' said Dr T Sudeesh, nodal officer at the telemedicine centre in Koyilandy General Hospital.
Dr M P Sreejayan, official in charge of the telemedicine centre at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, said lack of co-ordination between specialty and peripheral centres was the main cause of non-utilization of the facility. The Kozhikode hospital could conduct only 500 tele-consultations since its launch in 2005.
Dr V Rajeevan, assistant director, Directorate of Health Service admitted that some of the telemedicine centres remain unutilized. He said the government was planning to revamp the entire scheme, and that Rs 10 lakh had been earmarked for this.
"We are planning to train doctors and staff associated with the project. A coordination meeting of all the health experts at specialty centres and telemedicine centres will be held next month to take a decision in this regard,'' said Dr Rajeevan.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sreedevi Chitharanjan
Quelle/Source: The Times of India, 26.05.2012
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