Telemedicine roped in to make up healthcare shortfalls
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 15 2014 :
With a view to provide healthcare services to interior areas of the State, necessary measures have been taken up to launch telemedicine service, said Medical and Health Services Director Dr Okram Ibomcha who is also the Mission Director of the State Health Society.
Briefing media persons at his Lamphelpat office today, Dr Ibomcha said that telemedicine is not new in developed countries.
Under the UNICEF Assam office, a pilot project on extension of healthcare services to interior areas of the State through telemedicine would be launched by December.
The pilot project of opening telemedicine facility is under the Paediatric AIDS programme and the project would be taken up at Churachandpur, Moreh and Ukhrul in the first phase.
The project would have its headquarters at JNIMS.
With UNICEF's technical and financial support, the project would be implemented in collaboration with its Assam office and IIT Guwahati, and an official team conducted a feasibility assessment at Churachandpur yesterday.
Similar feasibility assessments would be conducted at other places too before the project is launched in December, Dr Ibomcha said.
Even though the project is for just one year, infrastructure installed for implementing the project would be handed over to the State after the project is over.
Meanwhile, Delhi based multi-National company Infrastructure Liaison and Financial Service (ILFS) has started a feasibility study for providing telemedicine facility in the five hill districts of Manipur.
The company has already provided telemedicine facility at 100 different places of the country.
In the first phase, the pilot project would be implemented at CHC Mao, Ukhrul District Hospital, Tamenglong District Hospital, CHC Chakpikarong, Moreh sub-district hospital and Singhat or Parbung.
If the first phase proves successful, telemedicine service would be launched in other areas of the State, said the Health Director.
The feasibility study being done by ILFS is expected to be completed by November 20 and telemedicine service can be made fully operational by April/May next year.
Once the telemedicine service is launched, a doctor can consult other doctors for treatment of a patient when he/she is not sure what exactly is the health problem of his/her patient and what course of treatment should be prescribed, Dr Ibomcha said.
He further informed that ultrasonography machines have been installed at Chakpikarong, Tamei, Behiang and Tousem recently in a bid to improve healthcare facilities in the interior areas of Manipur.
Other laboratory equipment and generator sets have been provided Behiang and Tousem while one ambulance has been given to Tamei.
Meanwhile, the operation theatre of Moreh sub-district hospital is being repaired.
In 1958, there were only 28 hospitals/health centres fit for child delivery.
But this figure grew to 67 in the last 6/7 years.
Efforts are on to further raise the number of hospitals/health centres fit for child delivery to 107 by December.
According to the Government of India's guidelines, there should be a sub-centre in every human settlement area which is away from a PHC by a distance of 30 minutes walk.
In line with this guideline, one PHSC would be set up compulsorily at Keikao along Tamenglong-Khongsang road.
More PHSCs would be opened at other places in accordance with the same guideline.
A sea change is expected by next year as far as the State's health sector is concerned, claimed the Director.