Microsoft India & IDRC extend funding support for teleconsultation initiative of Aravind Eye Hospital

Microsoft India and International Develop-ment Research Centre (IDRC), Canada under their ‘Rural Innovation Fund’, have selected five organisations who will receive financial assistance to support and escalate their work on rural innovation. One of the recipient institutions of this funding support – Aravind Eye Hospital in Theni, Tamil Nadu has proposed a low cost telemedicine solution that reaches out to the rural population. The hospital has showcased an innovative use of IT in facilitating online consultation for patient with ophthalmologists. This approach helps patients acquire the right advice directly from ophthalmologists, saving a lot of time and money. The objective now is to develop an appropriate model to increase the uptake of eye care services at the vision centres opened by the hospital.

Commenting on the initiative, Neelam Dhawan, Managing Director, Microsoft India, said, “The Rural Innovation Fund was established to help communities with limited access to technology to realize their potential.

The response in the first year of its existence has been tremendous – every one of the 700 applications submitted tells a story of achievement.”

Wockhardt opens doors of its new super speciality facility in Rajkot

Hon’ble Chief Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the N M Virani Wockhardt Hospital, Rajkot – the latest addition to the Wockhardt Hospitals group.

This facility will help those in Saurashtra to escape the inconvenience and overhead expense of travelling to other cities for quality treatment.

This super speciality hospital has a total of 200 beds, including 42 critical care beds equipped with life saving equipments like IABP, Ventilators, multi-channel monitors, infusion systems, along with 24 ICCU’s, 5 advanced Operation theatres, latest digital flat panel cath lab for angiography, angioplasty and other cardiac procedures, computerised diagnostic laboratory.

The hospital is fully computerised driven by HIS system and more than 75 doctors on the panel. It also has top-of-the line 2D Echocardiography machine, high-end ortho & neuro surgical sets.

The tertiary care includes critical surgeries such as heart surgery, knee or hip Joint replacement, brain and spine surgery, Minimal Access Surgery [MAS], kidney and other life saving surgical facilities.

US varsity links up with IIIT-Hyderabad for tele-health services

The former President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam inaugu-rated the web-based telemedicine link at the IIIT campus of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, with cooperation of University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, USA on 15 August 2007. The Centre for Distance Health (CDH) at the UAMS explained to the former President that web based telemedicine link will eliminate healthcare disparities in the country. The telelink with IIIT in India will help India’s healthcare providers to improve healthcare services in India. The CDH is already providing distance health implementation of educational, clinical, research and outreach opportunities to the rural popula-tion of Arkansas, including dia-betes self-management, high risk obstetrical management and cardiology consultation.

Fortis HealthWorld forays into rural India

Fortis HealthWorld – the one stop healthcare retail chain initiated its plans to reach rural India by signing their first health store in Mandi Ahmedgarh. This store is the first of many such stores that FHWL will open in rural India through its tie up with ‘Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar’, a unit of DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd. By setting up these stores Fortis HealthWorld seeks to empower rural India, mainly the farming community by providing all encompassing health needs under one roof such as OPD facility , telemedicine, routine pathology test collection centres, prescriptions, OTC, alternate medicines (ayurveda & homeopathy) and also veterinary medicines and fast moving personal health products. Mr. Ashish Kirpal Pandit, CEO, Fortis HealthWorld said “This alliance with DSCL Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar is an integral part of our commitment of providing world class pharmacy and allied services to rural India. Quality services and a well stocked pharmacy with genuine medicines, pathology tests, telemedicine will now all be available under one roof and within easy access to the rural population.” Fortis HealthWorld will ride on the existing 70 outlets of the Hariyali Kisaan Bazaars across India. Another 200 outlets will be added in next 15 months.

Apollo Health City launched in Hyderabad

Apollo Hospitals Group have recently launched the ‘Apollo Health City’ in Hyderabad – a first of its kind in the Asian region. With Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Dr YS Rajashekar Reddy doing the official launch, the initiative got the desired fillip to jump start its operations. Built on a sprawling 33 acres landscaped property, the health city will have 300-beds with over 50 specialties and super-specialties, along with 10 centres of excellence, covering – heart diseases, cancer, neuro-sciences, orthopedic, opthalmic, emergency, renal diseases, minimally invasive surgery, cosmetic surgery and trauma. Apart from this the Apollo Health City will host educational and research facilities for post-graduate specialisation courses for doctors, nursing , physiotherapy, hospital management, medical informatics, emergency medicine and paramedics.

AIIMS to go ‘near-paperless’

The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) of India is moving one step forward by becoming paperless institute.

In the first phase of the initiative, AIIMS is making patient’s medical history online. The program aims to provide information and records of patients anywhere and anytime. The project will also help doctors to take their decisions fast. The hospital has automated one of its centres by starting registration of new cases online. The facility will also provide immediate access to a patient’s complete health records including lists of prescriptions and allergies, which will reduce medical errors, improve patient safety and avoid duplicate tests and other procedures. The system can deliver alerts that warn physicians about drug-drug interactions or suggest best practices for a patient with a specific condition.

CWS – BITS Pilani using Telecom Technology to Provide Healthcare Services

UGC Centre for Women Studies (CWS) at BITS, Pilani has joined hands with Sewa Bharti, Pilani to open new vistas for the people by inaugurating a Telemedicine Centre, first of its kind in Shekhawati Region of Rajasthan. The centre aims at delivery of health care services across distances using telecom technology.

Inaugurated on the occasion of 60th Independence day, by Dr. L.K. Maheshwari, Vice Chancellor, BITS-Pilani, the Telemedicine Center would be beneficial towards improvisation of health care accessibility, immunization drives, educating young mothers and children about hygiene and general cleanliness.

Using the software ‘Remedy Kit’ and internet technology, vital information regarding pulse rate, heart beat, blood pressure, ECG can be transferred over the broadband link from Seva Bharti to Medical Center, BITS-Pilani. The health care personnel at Medical Center will analyze and diagnose the health condition and prescribe the medicines which will be available at Seva Bharti Complex. The entire procedure will take merely 3-5 minutes.

Space Hospitals to extend services in 15 Andhra Pradesh districts

A mobile telemedicine facility involving corporate hospitals in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu will be launched in 15 districts of Andhra Pradesh.

Chennai-based Space Telemedicine Hospitals Ltd announced that ambulances fitted with Very-Small Aperture Terminal (V-Sat) and videoconferencing facilities would be rolled out to help the rural poor in Andhra Pradesh to get the modern diagnosis and treatment as part of the new venture of Space Hospitals.

Space Hospitals with 70 centres in the network across the country, would also facilitate the referral services of famous hospitals and specialists, he added.

Punjab receives INR 2000 crore from National Rural Health Mission

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has sanctioned INR 2000 million to improve health services in Punjab. The State has received INR 150 million from the state government.

The state government will promote Ayurvedic medicines and soon organise “Health Melas” in the villages. In this respect, a qualified Ayurvedic Doctor would soon be appointed along with a director. The Health Minister Prof Lakshmi Kanta Chawla stated that health department will initiate a state-level compaign against the use and illegal sale of the drugs. Three trauma centres would soon be set up at Amritsar, Jalandhar and Pathankot.

Telemedicine Centres Open In Haryana, Rajasthan

In a recent development the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital New Delhi, entered into a PPP project with the government to open medical kiosks and telemedicine centres at three rural locations, Gohana (in Haryana), Kaithun (in Rajasthan), and at Dasmal (Himachal Pradesh.)

The government is investing Rs.1 million on each of the centres, and intends to open 15 more such centres within the next two years.

B.K. Rao, chairman of the board of management SRGH, said the hospital is going to start tele-ophthalmology vans and mammography vans which will be connected through satellite courtesy the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and will be stationed in different states and go to villages on a daily basis and examine the villagers.

TeleDiagnosys set to open more Teleradiology reporting centres

TeleDiagnosys Services Pvt Ltd, a premier provider of Teleradiology reporting services to hospitals and radiology groups in US and several other countries announced recently that their company will be opening 2 state-of-the-art Teleradiology reporting centers, one each in Pune and Mumbai under the leadership of well known radiologist Dr Deepak Patkar, widely known in the radiology circles for his expertise and pioneering work in radiology.

The existing center in Mumbai will be expanded to take in more work whereas the Pune center will be a new facility allowing TeleDiagnosis to take on more customers and service the existing ones more effectively.

TeleDiagnosys plans to add upto 100 radiologists and support staff in each center to provide radiology reporting services to fulfill the increasing demand for its quality services from across the world. These centers would also be backed by high quality secure telecommunication network and latest workstations for reading radiology images transmitted to India for interpretation.

The company’s exceptional growth in the Teleradiology market is driven by its ability to offer high quality services at low costs, including 24 x 7 x 365 coverage on preliminary and final interpretations.

Be a part of Elets Collaborative Initiatives. Join Us for Upcoming Events and explore business opportunities. Like us on Facebook , connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter , Instagram.

Related September 2007


whatsapp--v1