Telemedicine- A Communication Aid For The Healthcare System

The process of communication is as ancient as the human race. Every living organism communicates with each other. The idea of expressing and exchanging ideas, feelings, messages, is inherent to all human beings. Communication has become a field in itself and it is a topic which is taken into serious consideration by every firm. Varied tools of communication are used and recognized by different kind of firms. As a media person, you have ample amounts of communication tools that you can use to reach your audience. Newspapers, magazines, radio, television are some of the classic examples. In marketing, you may use advertising, public relations as your communication tools. In healthcare systems, the major communication between a doctor and a patient is done verbally. In recent times, the use of Whatsapp and phone calls also serve as tools for communication among the doctors and patients. Besides the personal interaction, a very unique tool called Telemedicine is used for communication by doctors to reach their patients.

Telemedicine is a hybrid service formed by the convergence of the fields of Telecommunication, Information Technology and the Healthcare System. Where every sixth human being in the world is a consumer of the Indian Healthcare Services, reaching a larger audience is sine qua non. The Government of India with the help of ISRO launched the program of Telemedicine to disseminate medical services in rural areas, remote places, and pilgrimage centers. With a greater reach of satellite transmission, high speed broadband connectivity, and mobile and wireless telephony in such areas, preliminary information of the patients is being gathered.

There are 175 telemedicine centers till date. Services like Tele-education (live surgeries to teach medical students), Tele-Consultancy (gathering preliminary information of the patients), and Tele-follow-ups (discussions on any previous case) are provided by the Telemedicine centers. In the year 1999, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, started the services of telemedicine. It has developed as a mature telemedicine center in the last 19 years providing service, training and research in the field of telemedicine. Over the years, the program is sustained through extramural grants. SGPGI team has acquired knowledge and skill to support various national programs as well as the need of international agencies in designing and implementing telemedicine projects in developing countries.

Telemedicine is not yet a part of the mainstream medical services but acts as a brilliant tool for communication.