Transcript sangha - Internet2

संघ
संघ
sangha
A community building communities
Hina Sharma, M.D. April 25,2007
Internet2 South Asia Conference
Sangha
• Nonprofit organization
• Dedicated to using technology and cutting
edge ideas to improve access to
healthcare, education and enterprise
• Partners: local government, Community
Based Organizations
• Partnered with Florida International
University
Key Points
● Rising burden of disease in developing world
(demand for health)
● Decreased supply of Health Care Providers
● Telemedicine’s role in Primary Care
● Lessons learned: Andaman and Nicobar
Islands
Supply and Demands of Health
Burden of Disease Andaman
and Nicobar Islands__
• Acute Respiratory Tract
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Infection.
Pyrexia of unknown origin.
Leptospirosis.
Gastrointestinal Disorder.
Nutritional Deficiency
(Anemia & Vit. Def.)
Malaria.
Diabetes.
Hypertension.
Why Is Health Important?
• Developing countries share
disproportionate burden of avoidable
disability, morbidity, and mortality
• Preventable infectious diseases,
malnutrition, complications of childbirth,
and chronic disease
Why Is Health Important?
• Exponential health costs of a country’s poorest
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population effects GDP with parallel income loss
may cause a dangerous recession causing
decades of setback.
In the words of Nelson Mandela, “The
imperative to act on this urgent, life and death
matter can no longer be ignored. We must not
fail to achieve the vision contained in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Telemedicine
“In terms of disease management, there is [a] 99%
possibility that the person who is unwell does not
require [an] operation. If you don't operate you don't
need to touch the patient. And if you don't need to
touch the patient, you don't need to be there. You can
be anywhere, since the decision on healthcare
management is based on history and interpretation of
images and chemistry … so technically speaking, 99%
of health-care problems can be managed by the
doctors staying at a remote place—linked by
telemedicine.” – Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, prominent
Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Philanthropist
What Is Available
• Specialty, Problem-Focused
– Store and forward information
• Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Tele-ophthalmology Link
– Shankar Nethralaya, Chennai
CALCUTTA
BANGLADESH
VIZAG
MYANMAR
CHENNAI
THAILAND
LOCATION of
A&N Islands
SRI LANKA
163 Km
INDONESIA
SINGAPORE
Primary Care
• How best to begin delivery of Primary Care?
• Address gender inequality
– Women’s health
– Only pregnancy focused care available (Infant
Mortality Rate 20%)
• Address Special Health Care Needs
– Disabled Children
– Female Development
Women’s Health Project
• Championed by the Director of Health Services
of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dr. Sadasivan
• Local Gynecologists will see patients at the
Sangha clinic twice a week
● Telemedicine
- increase primary care knowledge
- improve capacity to caring women and
children
Sustainability
• True sustainability = effective physicianpatient or physician-physician interface
• Capacity building of local medical
resources
• Building Databases
• Collaboration with local specialists
• Avoid fragmentation
• Broadband Access
Technology to Make a PhysicianPhysician Interface
Quality Assurance
• Continual update of knowledge with ongoing
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bilateral feedback
Promotes international standardization of care
Marketing to local physicians is essential for
success especially through demonstrations
providing the highest quality interface between
physicians and teaching continuing education
and procedures
Quality Assurance
• Increasing awareness of South Asian
physicians (mainland or other islands)
about the true potential for telemedicine
will provide the confidence that you can
teach anything with telemedicine
• See one, do one, teach one
• Thus, rapid increase in demand for
technology (Broadband Access, etc.)
Rapid Deployment of Crisis
Intervention
• Tsunami
• Pandemics
• Disaster Management
• Continued Specialty referral not otherwise
available