TELERADIOLOGY: ENROUTE TO FUTURE GROWTH OF INDIA

Teleradiology

BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION: India is seventh largest country in the world having $2.84 trillion economy with 1.4% of GDP been contributed on the healthcare sector. There are approximately 14 million doctors in India out of which 80% doctors live in urban India and 66.46% of citizens live in rural India. WHO has prescribed 1:1000 doctor patient ratio, but in India the ratio is about 1:2000. India requires 20,000 radiologists to cover every corner of India; however, at present there are 10,000 radiologists. There is also lack of amenities such as high-quality MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machines and CT (Computerized Tomography) machines in India. There are 600 MRI and 50,000- 55,000 CT machines present. This shortage of radiologists and proper equipment in rural areas, has led to considerable travel expenditures of rural patients, hence, increase in their out of pocket expenditure. Teleradiology offers solutions to address these shortcomings in the existing healthcare system. Teleradiology is digital sharing of patient’s radiological reports among different organisations for the primary interpretation of data, expert consultation or/and clinical review by digital transmission. It was primarily started in USA, but now the use of teleradiology is seen across the world. Providers upload and download Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) and HL7 images which are displayed on the desktop. These are then compressed, encrypted and sent to the virtual clouds from where these reports are delivered to radiologist who interpret these reports and send it back to the provider. OBJECTIVE: To review the benefits of teleradiology for creating a facility bridge for rural population from urban facility resources and to provide recommendation to grow in the field of teleradiology for future development in the healthcare sector. METHODOLOGY: Literature review of current status and future perspective of teleradiology in India. RESULTS: The government has taken several initiatives for implementation of teleradiology. It is seen that teleradiology was introduced in Pauri district hospital and 12 districts of Dehradun; in Karnataka, the it was introduced in Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organization; however, they faced many challenges. PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) software such as K-PACS, Conquest or Osirix, and Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) equipment which is a satellite transmission system was provided for free by the government in Ramakrishna Mission Hospital. This hospital is situated in mountainous and relatively inaccessible area of Arunachal Pradesh and is an only referral hospital in the entire state which cover rural population over 1 million; therefore, with the help of government, they successfully collaborated with TRS (Teleradiology Solutions), Bangalore for teleradiology. RECOMMENDATION: The scope of public private partnership could be explored. Free PACS software and broadband internet service might help in improving the healthcare sector. It is seen that access to broadband internet connectivity in rural areas is steadily increasing and the adoption of internet utilization has shown tremendous growth this could help in providing teleservices to the rural areas with ease.

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