India Bullish On Telemedicine; Will It Help Rural Population?

To say telemedicine has revolutionised the way healthcare delivery systems work across the globe will be an understatement. With telecommunication and related technology advancing at a galloping pace, India’s role as an internal and an external player stands very strongly defined.

But one has to consider the causes that led to the rise of telemedicine, which was just a concept at the beginning of this millennium. As the reach of medical help expanded manifold with the aid of technology, the telemedicine space has developed in a way that the world has never seen before.

Mobile technology and creation of majorly useful and complementing apps have built the most crucial roads for the advancement of telemedicine. Today, telemedicine is globally used in the fields of psychiatry, cardiology and radiology.

Experts estimate that telemedicine holds a huge growth potential, especially during the second half of the decade, thanks to increased life expectancy of average Indians. Greater uptake of existing technologies with sporadic increase in super specialty hospitals, which employ the resultant products, will provide the booster dose to the growth of the industry and also to the consuming market. It is estimated that by the end of 2014, the telemedicine devices market will stand at $1,048 million, globally.

In the Indian context, telemedicine will actually act as a saviour, doing much of what the medical practitioners are supposed to carry out as their regular duties. But the truth is most of the medical facilities are concentrated in urban areas, leaving the rural areas completely on the fringe of this development.

With a massive gulf dividing the rural and the urban areas, a sizeable chunk of the rural population always gets a raw deal. But with the cities bursting at the seams as the government-run hospitals await a much-needed makeover to match the modern methods of medical treatment, governments are now keen to integrate telemedicine with the regular ways of imparting medical care.

Telemedicine is effective in more ways than one. Healthcare professionals have long been advocating the benefits of telemedicine over conventional methods for various reasons. For one, although the rural population in India outnumbers the urban crowd, high-end hospitals for treating diseases such as cancer or HIV don’t exist in the villages.

According to a market study conducted last year, rural population uses a measly 15% of the total healthcare resources available to the entire Indian population. The situation is, clearly, top-heavy. Even for corporate players, running hospitals isn’t a matter of philanthropy. That is exactly why the concept of a private player setting up a good hospital in village limits is nothing more than a romantic fantasy that may not see the light of the day.

Add to this the reluctance of the government-appointed medical practitioners to reside in rural areas owing to reasons such as lifestyle, lack of supporting infrastructure and low growth potential. It is, therefore, no wonder that telemedicine has become a savior for both the giver and the taker.

However, in a country which has to battle poor nutrition, low education levels, poverty and hunger, it is also interesting to note that technology-aided connectivity has been of top order. Broadband and 3G data services have forayed into the innards of villages and into the hinterland without much delay.

The growth of the telemedicine market may not be all that organic, though. For instance, India spends a meagre 1% of its GDP on healthcare. This is a dismal figure according to WHO standards, set for India and its BRIC peers. While India has barely one physician (0.7 is the precise number) each for a population of 1,000 people, its BRIC counterparts – Russia (5), Brazil (1.5) and China (1.5) – are definitely better off.

Contrasting this ratio would be the reach of mobile technology. India has nearly 900 million mobile phone connections and the reach achieved by wireless technology can be harnessed to provide better healthcare. Experts say India’s telemedicine market will touch $250 billion by 2020.

While experiments are aplenty to arrive at an effective way to utilisie telemedicine for the masses, an experiment to open technology-powered clinics met with huge success in eight Indian cities. The experiment ensured that patients could choose to consult with more than 70 medical experts and take their opinions on health conditions with the help of video conferencing.

This has also changed the way medical device manufacturers redesign the instruments used in hospitals. Now, every device is made on dynamic platforms, with in-built choice of technology and manual operation being present.

With the benefits aplenty and economical too, it will be just a matter of time before telemedicine becomes a part of people’s lives. And this could be just what the doctor prescribed as a cure.