IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

With this, telemedicine service has now started in district hospitals in 25 mountainous districts across the country. The programme that has been started by the Ministry of Health and Population is expected to benefit rural people who have been deprived of quality health services due to geographical and technical difficulties.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal inaugurated the telemedicine and SAARC telemedicine programme, which will have the Central Coordination Desk at Patan Hoispital, amidst a function in the Capital today and said the service may turn beneficial to provide comfortable and easy excess among the rural people.

The Health Ministry has begun formal efforts to expand mHealth and eHealth services, a popular term explaining use of mobile phones and electronic tools in healthcare, by its health facilities.

In the first phase, a mobile application and SMS service are being piloted in Baglung and Ilam districts to track the pregnant mothers for regular antenatal visits.

According to the hospital source, the service has been beneficial for the people of 25 districts in the mountainous and hilly regions.

The service has proved a great relief to the rural people who have been deprived of health facilities due to many reasons including the lack of resources, said Dr Kamal Raj Dhital.

The service was resumed after equipment was installed at the district hospital by the government. Although equipment of hundreds of thousands of rupees has been used, the hospital has started services with the ADSL internet service of Nepal Telecom.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal today formally inaugurated the rural telemedicine centre and SAARC telemedicine centre at Patan Hospital.

PM Nepal said the innovation has broken the distance barrier and increased public’s access to health facilities.

Telemedicine would help improve healthcare facilities that would help decrease healthcare burden of bigger health centres. said the prime minister.

The initiative is part of a wider telemedicine initiative by the West Coast and Canterbury district health boards, in which hospitals and health clinics have been fitted out with video conferencing equipment so health professionals can conduct virtual clinics and consult with colleagues in the South Island.

According to Associate Professor Michael Sullivan, clinical leader of the telemedicine initiative, “The key uses of the equipment so far have been in pediatrics, for virtual clinics, and for cancer care, to assess patients undergoing chemotherapy.”

Details of people's prescriptions are being fed into an online repository from pharmacies across the country.

The Ministry of Health says information is encrypted and kept in a secure system only accessible by approved health professionals.

But it admits that people who aren't satisfied with those measures cannot opt out.

The radical new plan for Taumarunui, Tokoroa and Te Kuiti hospitals will enable doctors at Waikato Hospital to give advice and support to their counterparts even in urgent situations.

Speaking at a Health Infor­matics New Zealand seminar on health IT innovation in Canterbury last month, Dr Garrett said people on the coast are "unique and have their own strong character" and often don't make demands on the health system.

"They don't have the same expectations for health services as people everywhere else, but I think we should be aiming to give them the same healthcare they would get if they were anywhere else in the country," he says.

The cart, which costs about $50,000, will initially be used for pediatric and neonatal care at Grey Base Hospital.

It is part of a wider telemedicine initiative by the West Coast and Canterbury district health boards, in which hospitals and health clinics have been fitted out with video conferencing equipment so health professionals can conduct virtual clinics and consult with colleagues in the South Island.

"Relative to the country's size and population, I think we use telemedicine infrequently. The Canterbury and West Coast DHBs (district health boards) are two that have the most activity in telemedicine in the country," says Dr John Garrett, liaison paediatrician for Canterbury and West Coast DHBs.

Describing ways of reducing misinterpretation of information in texts and emails may also be part of the new eHealth component of the curriculum.

The curriculum is being reviewed as part of the wider GP training revamp being undertaken by the RNZCGP, the Medical Council and Health Workforce New Zealand (New Zealand Doctor, 19 May 2010).

Mental health patients in South Taranaki will soon have access to some 21st century technology.

Instead of a doctor coming down from New Plymouth to meet them at Hawera hospital, patients will talk to their psychiatrist by video conferencing - like Sykpe but more secure, psychiatrist Chanel Heermann said.

"We'll be using encrypted equipment our IT department is finding for us."

Health Minister Tony Ryall today announced the Ministry of Health is developing a new national telehealth system so more New Zealanders can receive health and injury advice over the phone or online.

“Nine Ministry of Health funded phone advice lines, including Healthline, Poisonline, Quitline and the Depression helpline, will be included in the new national telehealth service,” says Mr Ryall.

E-health through so-called patient portals will provide online access to personal health information, similar to online banking. The system enables patients to renew prescriptions, receive lab-test results online, book appointments and possibly even see doctor's comments written following consultations.

The Ministry of Health is expected to issue a request for proposals for the new service in the next few days to integrate the current dedicated lines for smoking, gambling, alcohol, drugs, depression and poisons with the existing Healthline, where registered nurses provide free phone advice on any health condition.

Homecare Medical has been named the preferred provider for the new look national telehealth service.

The free telehealth service will be available at all hours and will give the public better access to consistent health advice nationwide, health minister Jonathan Coleman says in a media release.

In a second media release, Homecare Medical board chair Martin Seers says the tender will lead to a more seamlessly linked service behind the scenes. No contact numbers will change at this stage.