Hospitals of Palike to get telemedicine facilities

Telemedicine facility will be introduced at the referral hospitals, maternity homes and health centres of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) soon.

According to Dr Devaki Umesh, Chief Health Officer (CHO), BBMP, telemedicine facility has been put in place in as many as 17 health centres, but the system was yet to be upgraded.
The Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Keonics) is assisting with the technology for these centres.

The Health Officer said that in the coming days, the Banashankari referral hospital, which already has the system, will be provided with requisite connectivity, and new system will be installed in Dasappa Hospital on Siddiah Road.

Dr Devaki said the Palike will have tie-ups with all the government hospitals whose specialists will be assisting the medical officers at BBMP health centres in treating patients with complications.  The health centres will also be equipped to conduct certain tests including ECG, ultrasound etc.  

“Suppose a patient walks with a chest pain into a BBMP urban family welfare centre or a dispensary which has only a medical officer to treat, the ECG report will be shared with a specialist in Jayadeva Hospital using telemedicine facility.

The specialist can diagnose the patient and can offer advice on the next line of treatment,” she added.  Through telemedicine facility, the patient can also check whether beds are available in the hospital for admission instead of personally visiting different hospitals.    

Health schemes

The facility will also be useful for the patients to make use of health schemes such as Vajpayee Arogyashree as the beneficiaries can ascertain bed availability, duration of admission and other details online. With systems installed in 17 centres at present, only end-to-end support is available. The CHO said that the facility will reduce the time of the doctors  and patients to have a quick diagnosis for any health problem.