IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

In December, when the Tamil Nadu health department was battling outbreaks of chikunguniya across the state, it received another alarm—a suspected dengue outbreak in Aththirampati village in Sivagangai district in southern Tamil Nadu. The alert came from a rural tele-biosurveillance system that LIRNEasia, a South Asian telecom policy think tank, was trying out in the district, in partnership with the Rural Technology and Business Incubator (RTBI) of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M).

"The alerts would be sent under a new Disease Tracking System which will be tentatively launched on August 15, 2009 as part of the e-governance initiatives," Chennai Corporation Mayor M Subramaniam told PTI here on Tuesday.

The Rs 500-crore integrated healthcare project is also looking at starting production and commercial supply of biological implants.

The health city, which now comprises a 1,000-bed medical college as well as super specialty hospital, nursing and dental colleges, diagnostic centres and utility centres, was opened for the public in November 2007. In the first phase, the hospital had invested

Inaugurating the programme at a maternity hospital on Arcot Road in Kodambakkam, mayor M Subramanian said that the initiative, a first in the country, will help mothers remember the immunisation schedule for children and, in turn, aid the fight against potential deadly diseases. "Parents who have registered their mobile phone numbers at the time of birth of their children in nursing homes or corporation hospitals in the city will receive the SMS alert," he pointed out.

The Minister of State for Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Shri Sachin Pilot launched the tele-medicine application through Common Service Centres (CSC). The integration of CSC services with ‘e-Sanjeevani’, a tele-medicine software package for remote diagnostics and tele-counselling was showcased to the Minister through a live demonstration at New Delhi today. The software is targeted to be deployed as a cost effective tele-medicine tool for rural area at 100,000 CSCs being set up as part of the country’s National e-Governance Plan. The Secretary, DIT, Shri R. Chandrasekhar and other senior officials were also present on the occasion.

Corporate hospital chains, big and small, are increasingly investing in telemedicine infrastructure and are finding technology partners to conquer distance in a country that stretches from Himalayas to offshore islands of Andaman and Lakshadweep.

With a view to provide specialized health services to patients in rural areas, a two way telemedicine link between Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here and Community Health Centres at Haryana and Rajasthan was established today.

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.

While the shortage of doctors continues to be a matter of concern, acute shortage of nursing staff post 2011, will be telling, the study added. “Telemedicine is one such innovation, which if used effectively, would help improve the efficiency of doctors and treat more patients,” said Sudhir Nair, head, Crisil Research. While it is difficult to make standalone telemedicine models feasible, an integrated healthcare model would be viable, he added.

A public-private partnership (PPP) between the government and SGRH, the telemedicine technology initiative has been started in two rural areas - in Gohana in Haryana and in Kaithun in Rajasthan

“Even a crude form of ‘tele’ touch may be possible a few years from now. Images of the interior of any part of the body can be viewed in real time.”

Expanding the telemedicine facility in the country to cover the HIV patients also, the Centre is setting up a pilot project in the centre of excellence at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. The project called – Project DISHA –ECHO is a joint collaboration between University of New Mexico, USA, and the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), sources said.

The project implies the usage of modern tele-linking technology to provide medical facilities and expert medical opinions of specialists in remote locations. The data related with diagnostic test reports, X-rays and other information can be transferred under the telemedicine project from the civil hospital to experts sitting at distant places. Video conferencing with experts will also be possible under the project.

Doctors from remote areas will get help in diagnosis and treatment plan from experts

Will also develop e-learning, online learning resource centre for oncology, radiotherapy, etc.

Working towards anytime-anywhere medicine, the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences here has inaugurated its telemedicine-based cancer consultation and follow-up programme.

The nurse would place an electronic stethoscope over the patient's chest so the doctor can listen to the heartbeat, put an otoscope into the patient's ear so the doctor can check for an ear infection, or send an X-ray so the doctor can spot a broken bone - all from a remote location.

All this can be made possible with the help of Telemedicine.

"The government is bringing in a new act called the Clinical Establishment Registeration Regulation Act 2007 under which all clinical establishments in the country, nursing homes, hospitals, diagnostics labs and even one-doctor clinics will be registered mandatorily," Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told reporters on the sidelines of the Baramati Conference on e-Health here.