As healthcare organizations continue to utilize and explore remote patient monitoring it is essential for us to understand the infrastructure needs that will make Remote Patient Monitoring a success. A holistic approach toward infrastructure is the need of the hour.

Infrastructure basically comprises of the following factors:

Let us elucidate each factor and understand its role

It is basically the availability of hospitals or healthcare centers and the integrated approach needed to enable them in remote locations such that they are able to operate in a seamless and efficient manner.

First and foremost, we need to ensure that there is availability of Healthcare centers (primary, secondary and tertiary) every 25 kms approximately, such that they are accessible to every individual irrespective of geography. Other important factors such as hospital connectivity, pharmaceutical needs, supply chain needs, and reverse logistics such as moving the equipment back or how to take back the excess or expired medicines, need to be worked upon. The second most important factor is the human resource allocation.The need for specialist doctors and the availability of clinical and non-clinical staff are factors that will prove to be crucial. The idea is to have seamless connectivity between top-notch hospitals and hospitals in the most remote locations to eradicate the constraint of geography.

IT Infrastructure: The most critical aspect of Remote Patient Monitoring

Access to broadband internet: High bandwidth limit is needed to transmit audio and video data. Organizations in rural areas may have difficulty connecting to or obtaining affordable and reliable broadband service

Imaging Technology: these devices are the backbone of telehealth and allow healthcare organizations to see and hear patients even when they are in distant locations.

Staff Training: staff needs to be trained to use telehealth technology, which may take time. Organizations should consider whether workflow changes may be required and train accordingly

This will play a crucial role in the adoption of Remote Patient Monitoring. In India, technology could be leveraged to a large extent to overcome physical constraints. For instance, drones could be a good way to deliver medicines and vaccines or for the purposes of reverse logistics.

Communication Technology: This is the foundation for the adoption of Remote Monitoring Technology. We could adopt a Universal Health Identifier for every individual using blockchain technology, which will be like our Aadhar Card for the purpose of healthcare needs. This will ease the challenge of data breach and security. Technology will play a very crucial role in addressing challenges concerning both physical and communication infrastructure. With the onset of 5G technology, most of the communication challenges in remote locations can be addressed. 5G technology has immense potential and could prove to be the best option to bridge the digital divide in India. The rollout of 5G technology is expected to happen by the end of this year. The contracts for laying optical fiber in all villages, including remote areas, will be awarded under the Bharat Net project in 2022-23, which is expected to be completed in 2025. The move will provide all village residents access to e-services, communication facilities, and digital resources on par with urban areas. This will pave the way for easier adoption of Remote Monitoring Technology.

Policy, does not solely imply financial support but also includes holistic ecosystem support. Promoting an eco-system of start-ups from a policy standpoint, thereby providing start-ups with government grants to recognize the challenges of this sector and to design sustainable solutions for them. The Indian start-up ecosystem is very vibrant and once the challenges are identified, technology-driven start-ups will come forward with solutions that will fit the diverse geographical needs and will also be affordable.

Secondly, we must push towards Remote Monitoring Devices/Services to be covered under our Medical Insurance schemes. Time and again this has proven to be a deterrent in acceptance and adoption, which is justifiable and reasonable from an economic standpoint. However, since the benefits are far-reaching it will be only fair to push towards including this as part of Medical Insurance schemes.

(The author is Vice President of R&D, at Murata Vios, Pvt. Ltd. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the FinancialExpress.com.)

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