TELEMEDICINE, ITS BENEFITS AND USES

Telemedicine is the use of telecommunications to improve the health status of patients by exchanging medical information using latest technology. It helps eliminate the distance barriers and can improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural communities. It is very beneficial to the rural poor, who can not afford quality medication or don't have an efficient healthcare system in their vicinity.

Large hospital have e-medicine provision as a part of their CSR initiatives. Many doctors are also in support of it since 70 percent of India’s population lives in rural areas and even in cities, health workers have a hectic lifestyle and long commutes which makes it tough to visit the doctor, but there are nearly 900 million mobile phone connections and over 200 million internet users, hence the wireless technology can be harnessed to decentralise India’s healthcare industry.

Some of the lesser known benefits and uses of the telemedicine industry are:

1. Telemedicine has been shown to reduce the cost of healthcare and increase efficiency through better management of chronic diseases,shared health professional staffing, reduced travel times, and fewer or shorter hospital stays.
2. Telemedicine can be used as a teaching tool, by which experienced medical staff can observe, show, and instruct the medical staff located somewhere else.
3. It also keeps a track of blood pressure, heart rate, weight, blood glucose, and hemoglobin. Depending on the severity of the patient's condition, the provider may check these statistics on a daily or weekly basis to determine the best course of treatment. 

          For more info visit : Telemedicine in India