UPSC SOCIOLOGY MAINS SYLLABUS
Paper 2 – Section C – Social Changes in India:
(i) Visions of Social Change in India:
(a) Idea of development planning and mixed economy.
(b) Constitution, law and social change.
(c) Education and social change.
(iii) Industrialization and Urbanisation in India:
(a) Evolution of modern industry in India.
(b) Growth of urban settlements in India.
INTRODUCTION
In a developing country such as India, there is huge inequality in health-care distribution. Although nearly 75% of Indians live in rural villages, more than 75% of Indian doctors are based in cities. The doctor-patient ratio in India is one per 1,457 Indian citizens; while in rural areas alone, the ratio is as low as one doctor per 25,000 citizens. The Indian government spends just 0.9% of the country’s annual gross domestic product on health, and little of this spending reaches remote rural areas. Telemedicine can be the cheapest and fastest way to bridge the rural-urban health divide.
WHAT IS TELEMEDICINE ?
Telemedicine refers to the provision of remote clinical services, via real-time two-way communication between the patient and the healthcare provider, using electronic audio and visual means.
DEFINITION
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Telemedicine as, “The delivery of healthcare services, where distance is a critical factor, by all healthcare professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation and for the continuing education of healthcare providers, all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals and their communities.”
ADVANTAGES OF TELEMEDICINE
Easy access to remote areas
Using telemedicine in peripheral health set-ups can significantly reduce the time and costs of patient transportation
Monitoring home care and ambulatory monitoring
Improves communications between health providers separated by distance
Critical care monitoring where it is not possible to transfer the patient
Continuing medical education and clinical research
A tool for public awareness
A tool for disaster management
Second opinion and complex interpretations
The greatest hope for use of telemedicine technology is that it can bring the expertise to medical practices once telecommunication has been established.
Telementored procedures-surgery using hand robots
Disease surveillance and program tracking
It provides an opportunity for standardization and equity in provision of healthcare, both within individual countries and across regions and continents.
DISADVANTAGES
The overall cost of telecommunication system, especially data management apparatus and practical training of medical professionals is high.
Telemedicine might take longer time due to difficulties in connecting virtual communication due to low internet speed or server problem.
Low quality of health informatics records, like, X-ray or other images, clinical progress reports, etc. run the risk of faulty clinical treatment.
Telemedicine system requires tough legal regulation to prevent unauthorized and illegal service providers in this sector.
POST-PANDEMIC DRIVE
There is a noteworthy increase in patient volume since the novel coronavirus outbreak has hit the nation. Hence, a number of patients and doctors are choosing telemedicine for following private practices, ease of booking online appointments, online medical prescriptions, monthly reminders to refill, and even blood testing at the comfort of their homes.
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
The telemedicine service platforms of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare i.e. ‘eSanjeevani’ and ‘eSanjeevaniOPD’ have completed 1.5 lakh tele-consultations.
eSanjeevani is a doctor to doctor telemedicine system, being implemented under the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWCs) programme. eSanjeevaniOPD was launched amid the Covid-19 pandemic to enable patient-to-doctor tele-consultations.
CONCLUSION
Telemedicine may turn out to be the cheapest, as well as the fastest, way to bridge the rural–urban health divide. Taking into account India’s huge strides in the field of information and communication technology, telemedicine could help to bring specialized healthcare to the remotest corners of the country.
