Tamil Nadu has started work on a state-wide hub-and-spoke telemedicine programme that will connect patients in rural and remote areas with specialist doctors at five of its largest government medical college hospitals, without the long journey to a city.

According to a communication from the National Health Mission (NHM), Tamil Nadu, to the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DME), a proposal for the State Hub-and-Spoke Telemedicine Programme has been submitted to the government. The scheme follows a Budget announcement by Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson earlier this year, and the state has earmarked ₹18.5 crore to set up the network.

Five super speciality hubs, 200 spokes to start

In the first phase, five super speciality telemedicine hubs will be linked online to 200 primary health centres and government hospitals acting as spokes. The proposed hub locations are:

• Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai
• Government Omandurar Medical College Hospital, Chennai
• Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai Medical College, Madurai
• Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital, K.A.P.V. Government Medical College, Tiruchi
• Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, Coimbatore

Doctors and patients at the spoke facilities will be able to consult specialists at these hubs through digital links, bringing specialist opinion closer to where patients live and easing referral pressure on tertiary hospitals.

A standard design for every hub

NHM has also prepared a standard design for the hubs. The DME has been asked to have the deans of the five medical college hospitals identify roughly 1,700 sq ft of existing built-up space at each institution for conversion. Each hub is planned with eight consultation pods plus two private pods for sensitive conversations, and the hospitals are working with the Buildings wing of the Public Works Department on space identification and cost estimates.

Scaling to 1,000 sites over five years

The network is designed to grow in phases. Over the next five years, Tamil Nadu plans to expand from the initial 200 spokes to a total of 1,000 hubs and spokes, making specialist teleconsultation a routine part of public healthcare delivery across the state.

Why it matters

The move builds on India’s broader telemedicine push. The national eSanjeevani service crossed 50 crore teleconsultations in September 2026, and states are increasingly layering their own specialist networks on top of primary care. For Tamil Nadu, a dedicated hub-and-spoke model anchored in its medical colleges could shorten the time to a specialist opinion for rural patients, cut avoidable travel and costs, and help district and primary facilities manage more cases locally with expert backing.

Its real impact will depend on reliable connectivity at the spokes, specialist availability at the hubs, and how well teleconsultation records connect with the state’s hospital systems and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.

Photo: Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai. IM3847 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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