Meeting India's Doctor Shortage Through Broadband

For many villagers in the Indian Punjab region, getting to a doctor is an exhausting ordeal that involves travel, consumes time and eats up precious finances. But the growing development of cellular and broadband has made seeing a doctor possible for people in eight communities in this vast North Indian territory.

One international company - Healthpoint Services India - supplies medical care by video from HSI's urban tele-medical center, where the doctors need to know the local language, as well as provide telemedical diagnoses. At a Healthpoint's clinic, a patient pays 80 cents for a consultation with a doctor and $1 for diagnostic tests. "For a family with an income of $3 to $4 per day, that's affordable, and we can cover our costs with those prices," says Healthpoint cofounder, American Al Hammond.

Healthpoint's e-procedures are similar to those elsewhere:

"Clinics are staffed by health workers who measure vital signs, such as blood pressure and heart rate, and transmit the information to a doctor in a nearby city. Local workers also run diagnostic tests, such as cholesterol or pregnancy tests; the results are relayed to the physician and recorded in the patient's electronic health record."

In 2005, an Indian effort to create telemedicine failed because of the cost and complexity of satellite communications. But "as broadband costs have dropped and reliable wireless communication has penetrated more and more of the country, chances are better that telemedicine will succeed."

From No Doctor to E-Doctors in Rural India (Technology Review)

Healthpoint Services India (HSI) website