Odisha’s Telemedicine Network Has A Bright Future, Says Expert

Bhubaneswar: Telemedicine has made healthcare easily accessible. “Geography and distance do not matter any longer as telemedicine can be used to reach a patient anywhere,” Dr Ramasamy Kim, an expert in the field and president of the Telemedicine Society of India (TSI), said on Saturday.

He described the Odisha Telemedicine Network as a shining example as to how technology could be used saying this endeavour had a bright future. He also advised medical students to use their smart phones for the betterment of society.

He was speaking at the inaugural function of the 12th annual conference of the Odisha chapter of the TSI held at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital.

Dr Kim said that engineering and medicine should work together for the benefit of humankind at a time when Artificial Intelligence (AI) had caught the imagination of the world. “AI is now available and we must know how to use it. It can help doctors to eliminate any mistake,” he said.

Dr Ramnath Mishra, president of Odisha chapter of TSI, presided over the program, which was also addressed by Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA Deemed to be University, Dr Sibananda Mohanty, past President of Odisha chapter of TSI, Dr Rabi Narayan Sahu, immediate past president of Odisha chapter of TSI and Dr Biswa Narayan Mohanty, Honorary Advisor to the Odisha government for the Telemedicine Network Scheme.

The conference was organised by the Odisha chapter of TSI in association with IMS and SUM Hospital.

The telemedicine project in India had been facilitated with the help the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and approximately 2500 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.