Utility of telemedicine for children in India
Meenu Singh1, Rashmi Ranjan Das
1Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. meenusingh4@rediffmail.com
Insights
Telemedicine effectively provides e-health care to children in Indian rural and semi-urban settings. This approach can be extended to critically ill children, including newborns, with certain limitations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric care
- Digital health solutions
- Telemedicine applications
Background:
- Limited access to specialized pediatric care in rural and semi-urban areas of the Indian subcontinent.
- The need for innovative healthcare delivery models to reach underserved populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility and feasibility of telemedicine for pediatric patients in the Indian subcontinent.
- To demonstrate the potential of e-health services in improving access to care for children.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 306 pediatric patients (age 0-15 years) managed between 2005-2008.
- Utilized customized telemedicine software (Televital and Sanjeevani) at a tertiary care hospital in North India.
- Data collected included clinical details, investigations, and radiological images.
Main Results:
- Ten percent of pediatric patients were critically ill and could not be safely transported.
- Videoconferencing was utilized in twelve percent of consultations.
- A notable lack of feedback and follow-up was observed for these consultations.
Conclusions:
- Telemedicine is a viable option for delivering e-health care to children in rural and semi-urban Indian settings.
- The application of telemedicine can be cautiously extended to critically ill children and newborns.
- Addressing the paucity of feedback and follow-up is crucial for optimizing telemedicine services.
Objective:
To show utility of telemedicine to children in Indian subcontinent.
Methods:
Retrospective analysis of data on 306 consecutive patients (age range 0-15 yr) managed between yr 2005-2008 in telemedicine centre of a tertiary care hospital in North India. The patient consultation were conducted using two customized soft wares--Televital and Sanjeevani. Data was extracted on a predesigned Performa.
Results:
The data included clinical details, investigations and radiological images. Ten percent of children were critically ill and could not have been in a position to be transported safely. Twelve percent of the consultations resulted in videoconferencing. There was a paucity of feedback back and follow up of these consultations.
Conclusion:
It is possible to provide e-health care through telemedicine to children in Indian rural and semi-urban setting. The e-health can be extended to critically ill children including newborns on a restricted basis.
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