TELEMEDICINE IN INDIA

Telemedicine can be defined as the use of medical information which is used to diagnose or treat a patient even at a distance. This is a clinically approved way of treatment which is an emerging field in the healthcare system. It is a part of telecommunication system. In India this field is still growing and lot more is left to achieve in this sector. It has given an opportunity for the health care people to enhance the process.

Absentia care or care at a distance is a traditional way which was done via post or telegram and it was very successful even in those times. With the developing technologies the way of absentia care has also changed significantly. Telemedicine is not only beneficial for the patients but it is equally important for the health care professionals also. MEDICOSA offers telemedicine in just one click and helps in bridging the gap between the rural areas and medical experts. In MEDICOSA telemedicine has various sub categories which offers the client to directly focus on the required field which saves time to a great extent.

Benefits to healthcare professionals:-

• Telemedicine lowers the risk of transmission of infectious diseases or parasites between patients and medical staff.

• Follow ups for the discharged patients has now become easy

• Offline and online data can easily be retrieved

Benefits to patients:-

• cost effective

• early diagnosis

• early treatment

• best doctors available

• early detection

• time saving

• travel expenses reduced

• different speciality doctors available at one touch

Healthcare in rural areas in India:-

• Around 70-75 % of the total population still lives in rural areas

• Most of the best facilities and expert doctors are available in urban areas

• Penetration of these services like telemedicine are very low in rural areas

• Telemedicine has become a boon for people living in isolated communities and remote regions. It helps them to avail travel treatment from the specialist without having to travel them to far places.

Type of telemedicine:-

(1) Real time

• Both patient and doctor is required at the same time

• Communication link between both patient and doctor either through the phone call or video call allows real time interaction

(2) Store & forward

• Medical data is collected & stored

• Data is transmitted to the medical specialist or doctor for offline use

• Presence of both doctor and patient is not required at the same time.

(3) Home health

• Remote observation and care of the patient anywhere in the world

• Patients records are reviewed from time to time

• It includes disease management, post discharge care, patient requirements etc.

Evolution of telemedicine:-

(1) Point to point

• 1 patient & 1 doctor

• Connected within same hospital

(2) Point to multi point

• 1 patient & many specialist doctors

• Within same hospital

(3) Multi point to multi point

• Many patients with many specialist doctors at the same time

• At different hospitals

• At different geographical distances

In India, telemedicine programs are supported by:

• Department of Information Technology (DIT)

• Indian Space Research Organization

• NEC

• Apollo Hospitals

• Asia Heart Foundation

• State governments

• private organizations

India is facing many challenges in framing telemedicine system. There are many plans formed and their execution is awaited. Rural areas are the major target which is been concentrated and given priority. Within the coming years, telemedicine industry is going to flourish! By - Trishala

Author Bio:

MEDICOSA is a networked patient care ecosystem on cloud to enable medical fraternity for offering integrated healthcare services to their patients. For more information about Telemedicine in India please visit MEDICOSA.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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