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Editor’s Insight
Telemedicine
A Revolutionary Step in Healthcare
actually impressive. However, as a populous nation, several
patients living in tier II and III towns along with the people
living in rural areas still don’t have the access to quality
medical facilities. Inspite of all the advancement in the
medical sector, a majority of the people cannot utilize the
benefits or fall short of the best medical solutions. This
blockade is primarily due to the physical distance from a
city along with the unawareness among the rural and
underserved population.
This is where telemedicine technology evolves as a boon
for the patients living in far-off areas. This technology is the
amalgamation of state-of-the-art electronics, ICT, and
associated applications that assist in providing education to
healthcare professionals. By connecting the doctors
together with the patients, telemedicine is changing the
dynamics of the sector at a rapid pace. Simplifying the
interaction, this technology bridges the existing gaps and
diminishes the obstacle to avail optimum medical facilities
– even while staying at any remotest corner of the country!
Right from having a medical consultation, complex
ailments, medication reminders, tracking health
parameters, transmission of medical records – telemedicine
does it all! In general, there are three versions of this
technology that can be used as per requirement:
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·
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Collaborative medicine: real-time communication
with physicians
Store & Forward: sharing patient information
Remote Monitoring: done through mobile
monitoring devices
Along with the private players, the Government is
providing assistance in the form of initiatives, reforms,
unified platform and reliefs. Since 2000, the Government of
India has taken various measures to implement this
technology at the remote ground levels. This technology is
gaining momentum as there is a huge surge in the Indian
tech industry. Many hospitals already have and majorities
are in the process of setting-up the state-of-art infrastructure
to offer the best medical services at a PAN India-level. By
investing in interactive video conferences, aligning the
software and hardware components and seamless high-
speed connectivity, the medical giants are successful in
penetrating into the remotest geographies of the country.
Making a Difference!
Before anything, the ease of accessibility is the foremost
reason for this technology to witness a positive trajectory of
growth in the last few years. The high volumes of elderly
and specially-abled patients are also a major factor fuelling
the rise of telemedicine services in the sub-continent.
Offering the most viable health care services to the
inaccessible corners of the country has made it the ultimate
choice for the providers. Knowledge sharing and educating
the medical services available at the rural areas enables
them to build their own resources and facilitates complex
emergency and intensive care services.
To a huge extent, telemedicine reduces the financial burdens
on the families by minimizing the hospital stays, traveling
charges, and by cutting off other expenses. This technology
is one of the best in its kind, as a patient gets access to
premium healthcare, irrespective of the time and location.
Additionally, it plays a pivotal role in doing
epidemiological surveillance for creating the healthcare
database of a particular region.
The Journey Ahead
The country has taken big strides forward in adopting
technology and delivering innovative healthcare solutions.
However, this is just the beginning and a lot needs to be
done. Countries like India and other developing countries
can act as the pioneers to innovative medical solutions and
match the medical superiority of the western world.
Knitting the country with this technology is surely a
progressive step to eradicate the stigma of the unavailability
of quality medical services across the nation.
- Devasish Kanojiya
45 |November 2018 |