BHUBANESWAR: Progress in technology has rendered distance irrelevant, making it possible to take healthcare to inaccessible places through telemedicine, health experts said.
President of the Telemedicine Society of India (TSI) Dr Ramasamy Kim said geography and distance do not matter any longer as telemedicine can be used to reach a patient anywhere.
“Engineering and medicine should work together for the benefit of humankind at a time when artificial intelligence (AI) has caught the imagination of the world. We must know how to use AI, which can help doctors eliminate mistakes,” Dr Kim said at the 12th annual conference of TSI (Odisha chapter) held at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital here on Saturday.
Telemedicine project in India was facilitated by the help provided by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and around 2,500 patients are being served by telemedicine vision centres daily.
New areas were accessed during the Covid-19 pandemic with the availability of many successful telemedicine networks.
Odisha Telemedicine Network is a shining example of how technology could be used for the betterment of society, Dr Kim said and advised medical students to use their smart phones for the betterment of society.
Expressing concern over the paucity of faculty members in medical education, president (Odisha chapter) of TSI Dr Ramnath Mishra said telemedicine should be utilised in a big way in the field of medical education and its help could be taken to expand medical education.
Vice-chancellor of SOA University Prof Nanda said the institution will extend all support to the state government in the field of telemedicine, which had helped save many lives during the pandemic.
Advisor to Odisha government for Telemedicine network Dr Biswa Narayan Mohanty also spoke.