Isro’s telemedicine plan to aid yatris reach remote areas

DEHRADUN: To provide medical facilities in remote hilly regions, the state health department will soon use telecommunication technology to diagnose and treat people visiting the Char Dham and other hill districts of Uttarakhand. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will provide satellite links by next month to connect the local health centres to hospitals in plains and metro cities.
In its first phase, the project will kick-start from Kedarnath shrine and it will be connected to the Doon hospital. The paramedical staff and doctors at Kedarnath State Allopathic Dispensary (SAD) will be connected to Dehradun for telemedicine, while doctors at Doon hospital will be linked to centres likes AIIMS-Delhi and PGI-Chandigarh for assistance.
“The primary focus of the initiative is to provide health care accessibility in distant areas and to begin with, pilgrim and tourism circuit of Uttarakhand was selected,” said additional director (administration) of state health and family welfare department, Dr. Prem Lal.
He said that they are expecting the ISRO team to install the equipment in Doon hospital and Kedarnath by next month.
“Pilgrims travelling to Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines will be provided treatment for not only respiratory, cardiac and orthopaedic problems but all kinds of ailments will be treated,” Lal said. In the second stage, Badrinath shrine will be connected to a health centre, most likely in Kumaon region.
According to state health officials, all established telemedicine centres consist of a VSAT (very small aperture terminal) system, video-conferencing equipment and telemedicine software along with diagnostic instruments such as the ECG machine and X-ray scanner.
“The staff at these nodes (centres) will examine the patients and take their vital statistics. They will then send the data to the specialist node via satellite. The doctor at the specialist node will examine the report, thereafter, a tele-consultation appointment will be scheduled at the patient’s location,” Lal said.
The cost of the equipment will be borne by ISRO as per the MoU signed by the ministry of health and the organization previous month.
“E-health services will cut down on the travelling time of patients in these areas and will make doctors more accessible,” health minister Surinder Singh Negi said.
The health minister said that the department has sent a proposal to the world bank to seek funds from them and establish telemedicine centres at as many remote places as possible.