Telemedicine in India going wireless, but having major impact now
Exerpts from an interview with K. Ganapathy, president of Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation (ATNF), who provides telemedicine services to suburban and rural areas of India. With the assistance of ATNF, 103 centers have been setup that have provided more than 45,000 consultations to date. The centers enable health care providers to consult with patients and write electronic prescriptions. In the future, “… chips in intelligent clothes will be sending a host of data to a telemedicine unit even without the owner being aware of it! Smart intelligent homes will monitor the elderly 24/7 [and] live data about heart and lung can be transmitted across continents and can be heard without stethoscopes.”

Read More: Wireless technology is future of telemedicine

Remote caregiving in for a boost

“Nearly 7 million Americans live an hour or more away from an elderly parent or other older relative who needs assistance, according to the American Society on Aging. The society said the average travel time for these caregivers to reach their relatives is four hours.” To help with this situation, a University of North Texas faculty member in communication studies has joined a national team to research use of videophone technology for nursing homes. This technology would assist residents in communicating with their remote caregivers.in nursing homes to help nursing home residents better communicate with their distant caregivers. This technology is a more inexpensive choice for nursing homes, as it requires a phone line and not an Internet connection. This intiative is funded by the Keck Futures Initiative of the National Academies.

Read More: UNT professor researching videophone use for better communication among elderly and their caregivers

Email, Share or Boomark this article >