Telemedicine for Doctors

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Our tryst with inpatient treatment began on the 24^th June 2001, with a Coronary Care Unit being set up within District Hospital, Siliguri. The state watched as the Hon’ble Chief Minister, along with Dr. Devi Shetty at the Kolkata end went online and spoke to Doctors at Siliguri, thus inaugurating the Telecardiology Project.

This was the first time in India that Telemedicine was being utilized not merely to advise OPD patients, but also to treat emergency Cardiac life-threatening situations. This unit is Tele-linked to Kolkata round-the-clock a day. Cardiologists at RTIICS treat any patient admitted in the CCU, with the help of MBBS doctors and nurses, who are intensively trained in CCU management at our center at RTIICS. Technicians are responsible for maintaining communication with RTIICS specialists as and when required, for assisting treatment of emergency Cardiac patients. The unit has all the emergency medicines and necessary equipment and it is manned round the clock by the CCU staff. The videoconferencing facility is provided for better patient care.

So far, we have set up 58 Telemedicine sites, including the ones in the south. We are connected to each other either through Satellite or through ISDN, and some locations have both facilities. We have treated more than 14,600 Cardiac emergencies in various remote centers and successfully Thrombolysed almost 1800 patients. More than 17,900 OPD patients have been advised through this facility. With the advent of Telemedicine, patients staying miles away from the doctor can be successfully treated.
Distance has become immaterial. Patients are able to save on precious time and unnecessary expenditure on travel.

The remote monitoring of these units, medically and administratively, is done regularly, to make certain that all medical equipment is in working condition, medicine safety stock is maintained, manpower attendance is regular and most important, patients are being treated as per directions of the specialist doctor. Asia Heart Foundation stands by its commitment of providing free treatment through Telemedicine and even supplies the life-saving drug, Streptokinase, free of cost to the patients.

The medical fraternity has woken up to the fact and has accepted that Telemedicine can provide solutions to most of the problems faced by people living in rural and distant areas that arise mainly due to the physical barrier between the sufferer and the healer.