The wedding of technology with medicine has thrown up numerous possibilities for south Tamil Nadu, which is shaping up as a preferred medical tourism destination, to take healthcare to a new level. Already, telemedicine is vigorously practised in areas of ophthalmology, psychiatry and general medicine in the region with the sole objective of making quality healthcare accessible and affordable to all.
Last week, on a single day, Aravind Eye Hospital screened over 850 patients, all of whom did not have to come to Madurai for an eye check-up. They were examined by ophthalmologists sitting at the base hospital. The Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre is providing affordable medical care through its telemedicine facility as also the Apollo Speciality Hospital. The M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation is utilising the full potential of its mobile telemedicine facility to reach the unreached. The Devadoss Multispeciality Hospital has come up with an online portal, which offers a gamut of medical services, including health insurance.
Telemedicine has come a long way and its applications have multiplied in the last few years. Madurai-based hardware companies have devised many useful tools that are used in hospitals all over the country. The growth of technology has also improved affordability and effected a saving on time and resources.
“Today, we have 58 Vision Centres operating all over Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The first one was inaugurated at Andipatti in Theni district on December 1, 2004. Patients have to visit the nearest Vision Centre, which is manned by a trained ophthalmic technician, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. They do not have to travel with an aide and there is no need to wait in long queues. Technology has made hitherto costly healthcare affordable to ordinary people,” says R. Kim, Chief Medical Officer, Aravind Eye Hospital.
The M. S. Chellamuthu Trust uses satellite and mobile applications from screening to rehabilitation of patients in remote rural areas. “Wherever we do not have Internet access, we use Skype to facilitate interaction between doctors and patients in remote areas,” says K.S.P. Janardhan Babu, Director, Programmes. The use of telemedicine facility has improved the number of people being treated for mental illness in community mental health camps.
Explaining the distinct advantages of telemedicine, Ashwin Desai of Tamil Nadu chapter of Telemedicine Society of India says it holds much relevance in the context of aged people living alone. While medical care can be provided locally by doctors from anywhere using IT gadgets, payment can also be made from anywhere. Applications in Intensive Care Unit facilitate interaction of relatives with doctors without any direct contact with the patient. It is more useful while seeking second opinion, he says. There is increasing use of telemedicine to stream surgeries and talks live in continuous medical education (CME) programmes and also store them for posterity. With some of the pioneers in telemedicine located in south Tamil Nadu, the facility is bound to have more takers.
