Mutelcor team conducted ‘Digital Health for rural citizens’ trial in a Primary Health Center in Maharashtra, INDIA to:
- provide the health center staff, Health Workers, Public Healthcare stakeholders a first-hand experience of Digital Health technology and its usage in a rural setting
- highlight the advantage of Digital Health in rural health centers where doctors are not available
- demonstrate the real time diagnosis of patients in HEALTH CENTER by the doctor in sitting in a district hospital using Digital Health app, portal and connected devices to provide consultation in real time
Healthcare situation in Rural Villages
- A majority of 700 million people lives in rural areas where the condition of medical facilities is plagued with lack of medical staff, infra and the specialized doctors
- Only 24% of the India’s doctors work in the rural areas with 76% working in urban hospitals and clinics
- 70% of population in India resides in rural areas whereas 76% of healthcare facilities are located in urban areas
- More than 10% health centers s do not have doctors, whereas SCs have no doctors or specialized primary care medical assistance
Objective of the Trial Study
The demo trial was performed in collaboration with primary health center and a district hospital in Maharashtra with an aim to showcase how quality healthcare can reach the deprived corners of the Indian villages using digital health technology.
Digital Health Trial Study
- No. of Patients: 200
- Connected Devices Used: BP Monitor, ECG, SPo2, Pulse Oximeter, Vitamin Tracker, Weighing Scale
- Study patients were chosen by the health center medical staff and by the physician based on selection criteria established with the attending doctors at District Hospital.
- Patients from both genders, irrespective of caste, creed, race and culture, from the Gadchiroli district were considered for the trial.
- The study patients were instructed on the assessment and the non-invasive Digital Health devices to be for the measuring the vital signs of the patients and the HEALTH CENTER nurse and the physician were trained on the Digital Health software as well as on the devices.
Volunteer Patients diagnosed using Digital Health
Attending Nurse at the Health Center used Digital Health mobile app and bluetooth connected Digital Health devices to register the patients and record their vital signs.
The patient data and vital signs were accessed by the attending doctor in district hospital through Mutelcor Doctor Web portal.
The doctor examined the patients’ vital sign measurements and advised the treatment to the patients through the web portal using chat/messaging feature in real time.
The patients and the health center staff were then surveyed on their interactions with’ the Digital Health solution after the trial.
Findings from the study
The definitive trial studies were conducted in accordance with the agreed design without any significant difficulties.
Mutelcor Digital Health solution was appreciated by the patients as it gave them access to the required medical assistance at the primary health center even if the doctor is not physically present.
Most patients were satisfied with remote consultation, online prescription and advice.
Doctors felt that Digital Health provides a means to secure patient monitoring and that the primary beneficiaries of the solution will be the rural population.
Hospital staff agreed that multiple patient registrations can be extremely advantageous as more patients can be screened because of quick registration process and vital signs pre-screening ensures that doctor has sufficient information about patients’ medical condition.
How RPM can help improve the quality of healthcare in rural India
Digital Health technology platform addresses the most fundamental issue of doctor non availability in the rural health care centers as it not only connects the visiting patient to the doctor remotely but also uses state of the art Digital Health devices for correct diagnosis and pre-screening of the patient’s health.
- Timely treatment can save adverse health event
- Patients obtain expert medical attention, saving both time and money
- Prevents overcrowding of District Hospitals by reducing visits
- Since the Digital Health solutions operates on low bandwidth which means the risk of service downtime is low
- With adequate training on Digital Health solution to health workers, district hospitals, as well as mobile clinics, ‘Health for all’ dream can be a living reality in near future.