Making “IT” work for medical care in India: focus on the I of IT

Sriganesh, Vasumathi (2007) Making “IT” work for medical care in India: focus on the I of IT. In: IAMI 2007, 16-17 Nov 2007, Kochi, India.

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Abstract

Information technology is fast expanding in all countries including India. It is being harnessed more and more in the medical field, to disseminate recent developments, to improve medical care, research, teaching and training etc. In developed countries, even patients make use of such facilities to understand their disease better. The “Digital Divide” is a problem that exists everywhere and efforts are being made to tackle this. However there are two bigger issues that are not being given the emphasis they deserve. One is that medical professionals need proper training not just in the “use of computers”, but in the use of “Information” – what kind of resources are available, how they are organized, where they are available and more. The other is the lack of adequate local, relevant and updated content, and its proper distribution across all health professionals in the country – right up to Primary Health Centres and Practitioners in Private Practice. This paper covers these issues and lists some suggestions for increased access to computers and the Internet, training programs at different levels, some methods to encourage local publishing, creation of content for different target audience, and a recommended distribution pattern for updated content. It also makes some recommendations for developing a project plan to implement these ideas and carrying the same ahead with long term sustenance

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