In today’s era, the best use case of technology can be utilising new-age solutions for the betterment and upliftment of the community. As India has become fast-paced in terms of development, technological solutions are paving the way for affordable healthcare for the people. Especially in rural areas where there is less preventive care, a lack of medical practitioners and prolonged primary care generally lead to a delay in proper diagnosis. However, technological infusion, along with appropriate infrastructure and efficient processes in place, has not only made healthcare in rural areas accessible but also affordable. With the help of technology, the best doctors are now able to cater to patients living in remote areas of the country. Let us discuss how technological intervention is revolutionising the healthcare landscape.
Technological Intervention: Changing the Dialogue of Healthcare
With rapid advancements in the healthcare sector, access to doctors is no longer limited to hospitals and clinics. People now have access to online platforms for e-consultations, enabling a doctor’s availability to be a click of a button away. The intervention of technology has also pushed the traditional workings of healthcare institutions aside and laid the foundation for more accessible and affordable care. The doctor-patient ratio in the country is 1:834, which makes tech-enabled healthcare services a need of the hour, especially for the remote areas of the country. Here, tech-enabled healthcare facilities play a very significant role in providing the proper healthcare in rural areas.
Tech-enabled healthcare facilities are becoming the norm now
One of the most common examples of technological interventions in the healthcare structure of the country today is telemedicine. Telemedicine started as a solution to cater to the needs of patients during the pandemic, reduce exposure and save the lives of essential workers at the forefront. However, this modern practice has gained momentum and is now being rapidly used as a means of affordable healthcare for people residing in rural areas. WHO supports the initiative, as with the introduction of telemedicine, healthcare is delivered in regions with inadequate healthcare resources. However, with these ongoing developments, spreading awareness and educating the rural population is necessary to deliver the correct message that these telemedicine services do not require long commutes, extensive waiting periods, or huge costs to get necessary medical services at their disposal.
ICT infrastructure supporting Telehealth
Telehealth uses a broad set of telecommunications technologies to support long-distance healthcare, patient health-related education, awareness, and remote health administration. The increased digital penetration in the rural parts of the country has helped the introduction of telemedicine. Patients have the opportunity to have in-depth disease information, communicate with physicians from their homes or E-clinics, and manage their chronic conditions efficiently with continuous monitoring. Telemedicine systems can help healthcare providers reduce doctor-patient visits and break the chain of infection transmission. Because the majority of the population in rural areas is not tech-savvy, telemedicine centres such as Tattvan E Clinics play an important role in providing easy access to doctors to patients from the comfort of their homes.
All things considered
Rural healthcare infrastructure has always been a priority for the government of India. Several government initiatives, such as the National Rural Health Mission and programs such as the Basic Minimum Needs Program, have been implemented. The current focus and encouragement of the government of India towards the adoption of telemedicine is truly commendable and is most certainly one more step towards strengthening the existing healthcare infrastructure of the country. As people become more aware of the benefits of telemedicine, a behavioural shift will occur, and they will readily accept technologically enhanced healthcare. The adoption will further accelerate as more tech-savvy doctors enter this care delivery domain. Because of its ease and availability, telemedicine is bound to grow and be adopted by more healthcare practitioners and patients in a variety of forms in rural areas.
