The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, recently launched a ‘Telemedicine Project’ linking three hospitals in Punjab, India to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research better known as PGI. The project is aimed at providing modern health facilities at affordable prices in remote areas.
The hospitals that were connected included the Mata Kaushalya Hospital at Patiala, the sub-divisional government hospitals at Dasuya and Ajnala in Hoshiarpur and Amritsar districts respectively. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Singh said that the recent launch of National Rural Health Mission had also envisaged accessible and affordable health services to the people in remote areas of the country.
He appreciated the initiative of the state government in launching the Telemedicine project, which would help the needy patients, in far-flung areas, to avail of the expert opinion of the doctors in specialised fields.
He said that technological advancements in the field of medical sciences would not only benefit the poor but also ensure equitable distribution of available resources.
The Chief Minister of Punjab, Amarinder Singh said that the project had been initiated with the technical and financial support from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
He further said that the capital cost per hospital to install the V-SAT and related bio-medical equipment came to about Rs. 20 lakhs, while the annual running cost was being projected at Rs. 2 lakhs.