|
APOLLO
TELEMEDICINE
Telemedicine or medical care through technology seems to
be the answer to millions of Indians languishing in remote villages
without proper medical attention. In most Indian villages there
are very few registered physicians and there is a total lack of
diagnostic facilities. Typically, in Indian villages the patient
has to travel to the nearest town if he has to get some tests done.
And diagnosis is another ordeal. He has to find the right specialist
for the ailment he has. Most qualified doctors are unwilling to
practice in primary health centres in villages for fear of isolation
from the medical community. 80% of our population lives in rural
India, but 80% of the medical community lives in cities.
 In
such a scenario, the Telemedicine project set up by Apollo Hospitals
has come as a boon that disregards geographical distances and proposes
to reach medical care to every nook and corner of India. Through
Telemedicine it is now possible for any person living in any remote
corner of India to send his test reports to the best hospitals in
India for an analysis by a specialist and obtain appropriate prescription
and medical advice, all in less than a day.
Under the Telemedicine project, clinical information and records
of a patient are converted into electronic digital data and sent
through ISDN/VSAT lines to a medical expert. Who in turn
gives the diagnosis and treatment advice, via the same channel.
 A
pilot project was launched by Apollo Hospitals last year in Aragonda
village in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. As part of this
pilot project, Apollo had constructed a 50 bed multi-speciality
hospital, having facilities such as CT scan, x-ray, a laboratory,
minor and major operation theatres and an eight-bed ICU. The project
proposed to cater to a rural population of 50,000 of 1,500 families
living in Aragonda and the surrounding six villages. This project
works through a well connected network of primary, secondary and
tertiary health care centres. So all that is required is access
to a telephone and a PC to get logged on to this project.
Accordng to Dr P C Reddy, "The main objective behind setting
up these telemedicine centres is to address the health care problems
of the rural population in India and the Developing World. Our ultimate
aim is to connect four billion people worldwide with all our hospitals
in the country''.
Apollo Hospitals is the first Hospital in the Afro-Asian Region
to enter into the world of telemedicine. It is the only hospital
to be invited to represent India and the whole of Asia to participate
in the 6th International Conference on Telemedicine conducted
in Uppasala, Sweden. Apollo Hospitals was represented by Professor
K Ganapathy, Medical Director (Telemedicine) and Dr Prathap
C Reddy, Chairman. Apart from India the teleconference connected
participants from Argentina, America, Australia, France, Sweden,
Belgium, Monaco, Turkey, Greece, Tunisia and Senegal.
 Speaking
to the press before the teleconference, Dr Reddy said that Apollo
has mastered the technology for telemedicine, and would be ready
the moment the bandwidth and connectivity problem is solved. He
also said that India is on its way to become top of the world through
telemedicine. "We are going to be top of the world not only
because of technology, but also because of our expertise in medical
care and because of the dedication exhibited by our medical fraternity".
This is proved by the fact that already Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
and some countries from South Africa have asked Apollo
Hospitals for connections.
| Author : Anuradha Sriraman |
|
 |
| |
 |
|
7:37:35 PM 
