Technology for Healthcare and Mankind

B Y :
AT I FA A Q U E E L
G u e s t T e a c h e r
E l e c t r o n i c s E n g i n e e r i n g S e c t i o n
U n i v e r s i t y W o m e n ’ s P o l y t e c h n i c
A l i g a r h M u s l i m U n i v e r s i t y
A l i g a r h
ICT FOR HEALTH AND
MANKIND

INTRODUCTION
Today, the technology is changing the landscape of the world and leading us towards a
sophisticated technical world.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT), refers to the various electronic
tools and services that facilitate communication and the sharing of information and
knowledge.
ICT is similar to Information Technology (IT), but focuses primarily on
communication technologies. This includes the Internet, wireless networks, cell
phones, and other communication mediums.
The unravelling of new technologies has expanded the world of ICT in such a way
that our own world seems much smaller, and much more connected than ever before.
25-12-2020 By: Atifa Aqueel 2

INTRODUCTION
• Today ICT not only means the call you make to relatives on the
other side of the world, or the quick email you send through your
mobile phone.
• ICT is now something much more deeply woven into the fabric of
our lives.
• The emerging role of ICT has created a huge impact on Healthcare.
• It enhances the quality of care, increases the patient security and
data protection and reduces operating & administrative cost.
• Accessibility to information has become simple using ICT and also
people find themselves more relaxed while availing healthcare
service.

CHALLENGES IN HEALTH CARE
SECTORS
• There are various challenges faced by the Healthcare sectors such as
• Storing the medical record of the patient.
• Maintaining Hospital Information System
• Maintenance of medical equipment
• Medication error.
• Large communication gap between rural and urban population.
• Absence of accurate information in villages.
• Transportation difficulties and lot more.

ICT REVAMP THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR
• The advancement of ICT revamp the whole process of the
healthcare sector.
• Through ICT the urban –rural disparities have been broken &
shortened.
• If a doctor has the right communication channel it is easy to deliver
treatment and care for the patient who is located anywhere around
the world.
• ICT enabled systems help the Doctor to continuously monitor the
patient’s history, diagnostic report, and track the current health
condition.
• The Doctor can also interact with patient, recommend to take
medical examination and prescribe medicine.

INDIAN HEALTHCARE PARADIGM
India has taken significant leaps in terms of socio-economic development since
its independence, and has strengthened its position as one of the largest
economies in the world.
A World Bank report published in 2010 estimates that India is annually losing
over 6% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) due to the premature deaths and
preventable illnesses.
India, has a current population of 1.25 billion. By 2050, it is expected to
reach 1.6 billion. So, the public health planners of the country have a big
challenge to cater to.
The performance of the health sector is suboptimal because of an increased
burden of factors like political instability, underdevelopment, weak institutions,
scarcity of resources, inadequately developed social sectors and evident social
inequalities.
A World Bank report published in 2010 estimates that India is annually losing
over 6% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) due to the premature deaths and
preventable illnesses.
India, has a current population of 1.25 billion. By 2050, it is expected to reach
1.6 billion. So, the public health planners of the country have a big challenge to
cater to.

KEY INDICATORS
1. Healthcare Spending Per Capita:
This low spending is a reflection on India neglecting its healthcare sector
by not spending sufficiently in developing the infrastructure, while the
focus is to transform it into an IT-enabled structure.

KEY INDICATORS
2. Government Expenditure on Health as a Percentage of Total
Expenditure:
• The Indian government spends a trivial 4% of GDP on healthcare, out of
which majority share is of the private sector.
• The government’s contribution in India stands at approximately 33%, while
in the US and China, the same stands at nearly 46% and 56%, respectively

KEY INDICATORS
3. Penetration of Physicians:
The number of doctors per 1000 population stands at 3.31 in the US, and 1.53
in case of China. The ratio for India stands at nearly 0.6 doctors per 1000
population reflecting the plight of patients who have to wait in long queues for
getting medical consultation and treatment.

KEY INDICATORS
4. Penetration of Hospital Beds:
Another drawback of the Indian healthcare sector is the shortage of beds. The
level is below 1 (0.7) per 1000 population. The figures depict that not enough
funds are allocated by the Indian government for the healthcare infrastructure
development.

KEY INDICATORS
5. Hospital Network:
• Although the government is making
endeavour to establish better healthcare
facilities in terms of hospitals, PHCs,
CHCs, medical colleges, AYUSH,
blood banks, etc. the respective
infrastructure is still overburdened.
• The year 2012 marked a sudden surge
in the number of rural hospitals.
• The National Health Profile document
elicited the fact that many regions, like
J&K and Uttarakhand have not reported
developments in hospital infrastructure
post 2008.

INDIAN HEALTHCARE SECTOR:
CURRENT CHALLENGES
Poor Patient Monitoring and Tracking
Low government spending on healthcare
Increasing disease burden
Low doctors and hospital beds per 1000 population ratio
Lack of awareness, accessibility and affordability in Tier 2-3
cities/rural areas
Inadequate sanitation and hygiene conditions

ROLE OF ICT IN HEALTHCARE
To tackle these challenges, the process of health planning needs to evolve by
the use of ICT in healthcare delivery and distribution and public health
decision making at every level.
This will ensure delivery of right health services to right people at the right
place as well as on right time. ICT has the capacity to influence all aspects of
the health sector.
For instance, in public health, management of information and
communication processes are very crucial and are assisted or limited by the
availability of information.
In India, e-governance has been institutionalised, the use of ICT has become
a norm for several government departments.

ROLE OF ICT IN HEALTHCARE
ICT helps patients become more involved in their own care. This becomes
more significant in managing chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes,
heart disease etc.
The concept of telemedicine has become increasingly useful in the healthcare
sector, particularly, to reach out to rural and remote regions through ICT,
where direct healthcare delivery is hard to access.
ICT ushers in an augmented administrative efficiency in a nation where the
public health infrastructure is in absolute mess. ICT in healthcare can assist
remote consultation, diagnosis and treatment through telemedicine.
India has witnessed varying success across states with the application of ICT
in healthcare. This is because of different levels of engagement by way of
latest technologies

HEALTHCARE INFORMATION &
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (HICT):
• Health Information and Communication Technology (Health IT) is a broad term
that describes the technology and infrastructure used to record, analyze and share
patient health data. The purpose of health IT is to provide better care for patients
and to achieve equity.
• Health information technology (HIT) means the use of computer in the form of
physician digital assistance, electronic health records, computerized physician
order entry system by doctors, patients, hospitals, laboratories, x-ray facilities
and all other stake holders.
• Health IT improves the quality of healthcare delivery, increases patient safety,
decreases medical errors, and strengthens the interaction between patient and
healthcare providers
• The major challenges hindering Information & Communication Technology
(ICT) implementation include underfunding of public healthcare services,
restricted knowledge about applications of IT, scantily trained manpower
resource, huge initial investments and lack of stringent regulations.

HEALTHCARE INFORMATION &
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (HICT):
Source: http://ictinmedicaluse.blogspot.com/25-12-2020 By: Atifa Aqueel 17

ICT & INDIAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
• The Healthcare Information Technology (HIT) epitomizes the holistic
management of health information across computerized systems.
• Healthcare Information & Communication Technology (HICT) is termed as
the most efficient and effective tool for augmenting the quality, safety and
efficiency of the health delivery system comprehensively.
• Despite India being an IT-enabled services’ behemoth, the use of HICT is
very restricted in the country.
• The state of Public health service run by Indian government is overburdened.
• Huge geographical size, high population density, lack of transportation,
inaccessibility, poverty, poor nutritional conditions, petty budget for
healthcare infrastructure development, lack of funds and coordination, and
skewed food habits and lifestyle are various challenges that have triggered
down the trend in overall healthcare sector of India.

• Highly pressurized and caving-in public healthcare system of India is now
zealously pursuing the Information & Communication technology (ICT)
route in different states of the country.
• Bringing a paradigm shift in the healthcare dynamics of the country is the
prime objective now.
• Web services are now the prerequisites for organizing, sharing and
accessing medical services.
• ICT has laid copious alternatives for facilitating the communication of
health messages to the public.
• At present, the healthcare industry facades which have adopted or starting
to adopt the IT include HIMS, Telemedicine, Mobile health (Apps, Phones,
Integrated devices, etc.), and Disease Surveillance Projects.

• National Health Policy endorsed by the Parliament of India encourages the
introduction of electronic communication media in health sector.
• The government of India also brought in the “National Rural Health
Mission” for delivering the best in healthcare to the rural population.
• The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Ministry of
Communication and Information Technology (ICT) are jointly creating a
national health information infrastructure, for easy capture and
dissemination of health information.

TECHNOLOGIES IN HEALTHCARE

ICT: APPEASING THE OVERBURDENED
INDIAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
1. Patient Monitoring and
Tracking
• By facilitating the ICT in
healthcare system, the patient
health records will be digitized, and
will be accessible anytime
anywhere. E.g EHR, EMR etc.
• Centralization of such records will
certainly expedite the patient
monitoring and tracking process.
• This will improve the execution of
health system by improving the
management of information and
access to that information.

2. Reducing the Healthcare Burden on Government
• With easy patient monitoring and tracking, paperless records, and evolution
of facilities, like telemedicine, the cost burden on government is reduced.
• This will also help improving the healthcare delivery through better diagnosis,
better mapping of public health threats, and better training and sharing of
knowledge among health workers.
3. Increased Accessibility and Affordability
• Through ICT in healthcare, the reach of people living in rural areas and other
Tier 3 cities could be expanded
• By deploying the channels of telecommunication, facilities like tele-
consultation, tele-medicine, tele-pathology, etc. could be provided at an
affordable price.
• Rural area people can save over 80% of their medical expenses when the need
to travel to far off cities for getting medical consultation could be negated.

4. Managing the Scarcity of Doctors and Beds
• The implementation of information and communication technology which
negates the need of in person visits is subduing the scarcity of doctors and
hospital beds.
• Patients can consult doctors, show reports, book prior appointments, refill
prescription, and send their vital signs by means of ICT without making a
visit to the doctor.
5. Spreading Awareness
• By setting up a base for telecommunication in remote locations, the
knowledge about vaccination, hygiene maintenance, healthy lifestyle,
preventive care, disease management, etc., could be spread easily.
• This will facilitate the process of preventive care management, thus
placating the healthcare burden to some extent

AREAS COVERED BY HEALTH
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
1. EMR/EHR/PHR
2. Telemedicine
3. Digital health knowledge resource e.g. Digital Medical Library
4. Hospital Information management system (HIMS)
5. M-Health
6. e-learning technologies and application in health Science
7. Biomedical informatics for biomedical research applications
8. Artificial Intelligence in clinical medicine and health management
9. Public health informatics
10. Medical Internet
11. Virtual Reality and Simulation for health

EMR VS EHR VS PHR
EHR- Electronic Health RecordEMR- Electronic Medical Record
PHR- Personal Health Record
Source: Google images

TELEMEDICINE

DIGITAL MEDICAL LIBRARY

HOSPITAL INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (HIMS)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN
HEALTHCARE

1. HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM (HIMS):
Hospital and healthcare information system is among the vastest areas for IT
applications.
The field of Health Information Management Systems (HIMS) epitomizes
the practice of managing health records by hospitals, health departments,
physician’s office/clinics, health insurance companies, and other institutions
that offer healthcare services
The storage of patient’s medical records in electronic format and their timely
availability can transmute the quality of health delivery.

PARTIAL LIST OF MAJOR HIMS
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
Many robust and standard HIMS solutions have been developed by the major IT
companies :
• Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC)
• Wipro
• GE Healthcare
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
• Amrita HIS Solution
• Sobha Renaissance
• Siemens Information Systems Ltd (SISL).

HIMS: AUTOMATING THE INDIAN
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
1. Automation and Data Centralization:
• The implementation of HIMS automates all the procedures
ranging from
• Patient registration
• Billing
• Financial management
• Laboratory
• Pharmacy data integration
• Archiving of radiology images in medical setting
• This data is then centralized for utilization across various
departments of the hospital.

HIMS
2. EMR/EHR Maintenance:
• Since HIMS records all the patient related data from their first visit itself,
the system helps maintaining medical records management (assignment of
a medical record number, chart location and completion monitoring,
laboratory and pharmacy data integration, procedure and diagnosis coding
and transcription processing).
3. Space Saving and Information Retrieval:
• Since the paperless EHRs are stored on the cloud in the digitized format, a
lot of space is saved in physical terms as there is no requirement to keep
files/dockets/dossiers of EMRs.
• Moreover, the information in digital format is relatively easy to retrieve as
compared to any information stored in physical format.

HIMS
4. Better Patient Care Management:
• Due to the maintenance of EMRs, the patient data/test records are accessible at
any point of time, anywhere.
• Moreover, even if the hard copies of tests are lost, the very reports could be
simply traced by the Unique Identification (UID) given to the patient at the time
of their first visit.
• All these prospects pave way for better healthcare delivery to the patients.
5. Patient Tracking:
• Because of data centralization, the patient’s movements will be tracked.
• For instance, if a patient is visiting different hospitals, the recorded data will help
in understanding and providing the best possible treatment to the patient on the
basis of what treatment and consultation he/she has been receiving in different
hospitals.

HIMS
6. Insurance Claim Process Facilitation:
• HIMS enables Patient/payer accounting (patient service pricing, patient
billing and insurance or other claims, electronic data interchange, payer
logs) and smoothens the whole process, as the data is recorded in the
electronic format.

HIMS COMPONENTS

HIMS COMPONENTS
HIMS

PENETRATION OF HIMS IN INDIA
• Advanced: States which have
hospitals using HIMS up to e-
Prescription and CDSS level;
• Moderate: States which have
hospitals using HIMS up to LIS and
PACs level;
• Basic: States which have hospitals
using HIMS for general patient
registration and billing process.
• The research outcome suggests that
almost all the states of India have a
basic level penetration of HIMS.
Some states like Delhi, Maharashtra,
and Rajasthan reported high level of
penetration.
Source: RNCOS

2. TELEMEDICINE: A NEW HORIZON IN
PUBLIC HEALTH
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Telemedicine as:
The delivery of health care services,
where distance is a critical factor, by all
healthcare professionals using
Information and Communication
Technologies for the exchange of valid of
information for diagnosis, treatment and
prevention of disease and injuries,
research and evaluation and for the
continuing education of healthcare
providers, all in the interest of advancing
the health of individuals and their
communities.

TELEMEDICINE
• Video 2
• Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYgU1GSZqig

TELEMEDICINE
Telemedicine is the remote delivery of healthcare services, such as health assessments or
consultations, over the telecommunications infrastructure.
It allows healthcare providers to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients using common
technology, such as video conferencing and smartphones, without the need for an in-
person visit. It helps eliminate distance barriers and can improve access to medical
services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural communities.
Telemedicine includes a wide variety of applications and services deploying two-way
video, email, smart phones, wireless tools and other forms of telecommunication
technology for treating patients in remote areas; also expediting the medical education
and training of doctors and paramedical staff present in remote locations across the
country.

Courtesy: ISRO

TYPES OF TELEMEDICINE
1. Remote patient monitoring, also known as telemonitoring, allows
patients with chronic diseases to be monitored in their homes with
mobile medical devices that collect data about blood sugar levels,
blood pressure or other vital signs. Remote caregivers can review the
data instantly.
2. Store-and-forward, also known as asynchronous telemedicine, lets
providers share patient information, such as lab results, with a
physician at another location.
3. Interactive telemedicine allows physicians and patients to
communicate in real time. Such sessions can be conducted in the
patient's home or in a nearby medical facility and include telephone
conversations or the use of video conferencing software that complies
with HIPAA regulations
*HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)

TELEMEDICINE: EXTENDING
HEALTHCARE
1. Facilitating Healthcare Accessibility and Affordability:
• With the implementation of telemedicine, the healthcare prospects in
remote locations are meliorated.
• For instance, several multispecialty hospitals located in the heart of a
metropolitan city provide telemedicine, tele-consultaton, tele-
opthalmology, tele-pathology, etc. to rural areas/villages where necessary
healthcare facilities are lacking.
• Moreover, these services save time and cost on travelling as remote
consultation is provided.
2. Negating the Need To Travel To Far Off Cities for Treatment:
• Since telemedicine in itself delivering the healthcare in rural areas, the
patients don’t need to travel to far off cities to get better treatment. Patients
hence, are able to save upon the travelling cost.

CONTD…
3. Treatment at Par with What Is Offered in Metropolitans:
• Telemedicine is usually provided in collaboration with multispecialty
hospitals/medical colleges which already excel in offering the best
treatment and boast of hiring best medical professionals.
• So, when the paramedics of such medical institutions provide tele-
medicine, it is certainly at par with metropolitan standards.
4. Overcoming the Scarcity of Paramedics and Hospital Beds:
• As it is known, in India the penetration of doctors and hospital beds is very
low; telemedicine is subduing its impact.
• “No in person visits” to a hospital is required. Moreover, a specialist sitting
in a multi-specialty hospital in a metro can expedite the healthcare delivery
process by guiding the nurses and general physicians sitting in a rural
setting.

ADVANTAGES OF TELEMEDICINE

3. MOBILE HEALTH (M-HEALTH)
M-Health basically is the delivery of healthcare services/ information via
mobile phones. The availability of the services across India varies substantially
depending on the level of advancement in the state.

M-HEALTH BENEFITS
• Bridging the Gap: M-Health closes the gap between the existing
and required healthcare services. Facilities such as remote
monitoring of patients, online appointment scheduling, online
prescription renewal, consultation, etc. are bridging the gap between
the consumer expectations and the services available.
• Time Saving: Visiting the doctor’s clinic and waiting in queue is
always exasperating for any patient. M-Health services such as
telephone-based appointment scheduling and, prescription refill save
plenty of time.
• Basic Tests at Home: There are several apps and devices
compatible with a smartphone which are available and can help
performing basic tests, like glucose monitoring, BP/heart beat
monitoring, urine analysis, and so on at home itself. The test
readings could be forwarded to the physician online.

M-HEALTH BENEFITS
• Online Consultation: The availability of consultations via telephone or 3G
video provides quality care just a button away. All such apps and facilities offer
medical care on the go.
• Better Facilities in Rural Areas: Since there is a lack of basic healthcare
facilities in rural areas and the people travel miles just for medical consultation,
video calling and online consultations comes into play, herein. Thus, M-Health
is improving the healthcare access for the vast underserved rural market and
enhances patient care for urban consumers.

LATEST TECHNOLOGIES IN
HEALTHCARE SECTOR
Nanotec
hnology
Big Data
Analytics
Cloud
Genome
Sequenci
ng
Artificial
Intelligence
Wearable
and
Sensors
Virtual
Reality
3D
Printing
Technologies
in healthcare
sector

NANOTECHNOLOGY
• Nanotechnology incorporates the manipulation of matter at the atomic and
molecular level in order to create materials with remarkably varied and
novel properties.
• Today, the immense knowledge pool on how the body functions at the
cellular level is paving way for several new and better medical techniques.
• Quantum Dots based Diagnosis:
• Swift Diagnosis: Nanotechnology is facilitating way faster and more
precise diagnosis, as many tests can be built in a single, palm-sized device
requiring trivial sample quantity. Such devices are even termed as a ‘lab-
on-a-chip’.

NANOTECHNOLOGY
Targeted Drug Delivery: For treating a disease, multiple drugs are
prescribed at a time, in order to target the disease site and many patients
complain about the moderate to severe side effects of those drugs. By
deploying specially-designed drug-carrying nanoparticles, accurate targeting
of the drug can now be achieved. This elicits the fact that much smaller
quantities of a drug will be required for treating a disease, thus reducing
toxicity to the body. The progress of the cure can also be monitored using
advanced imaging techniques.
Nanotechnology can be embedded within the mobile devices for faster and at-
home diagnosis which in turn will sweep the healthcare world with an
unprecedented revolution.

NANOTECHNOLOGY

3D PRINTING
• 3-D printing revolves around the use of
digital 3-D design data utilized for
building up a component layer by layer.
• 3D printing, was first developed in the
1980s. It involves taking a digital model
or blueprint of the subject that is then
printed in successive layers of an
appropriate material to create a new
version of the subject.
• There are four core uses of 3D printing in
the medical field that are associated with
recent innovations: creating tissues and
organoids, surgical tools, patient-specific
surgical models and custom-made
prosthetics.

BENEFITS OF CLOUD
Supports big data sets for
EHR, radiology images and
genomic data offloading
Facilitates the sharing of
EHRs between hospitals
across geographies
Enables on-demand access to
computing and large storage
facilities
Improves analysis and
information tracking

SIGNIFICANCE OF BIG DATA IN
HEALTHCARE

WEARABLE SENSORS FOR REMOTE
HEALTH MONITORING
• Remote health monitoring is based on non-invasive and wearable sensors,
actuators and modern communication and information technologies.
• It helps in monitoring important physiological signs of their patients in real
time, assess health conditions.
• It allows people to continue to stay at home rather than in expensive
healthcare facilities such as hospitals or nursing homes.
• It provides an efficient and cost-effective alternative to on-site clinical
monitoring

REMOTE HEALTH MONITORING
SYSTEM
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5298703/25-12-2020 By: Atifa Aqueel 63

LIST OF SOME COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS
• List of some commercial products for monitoring physiological signs and
activities
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5298703/

DIGITAL HEALTHCARE IN
INDIA
Digital Healthcare is the ‘healthcare of the future’. Like many other markets,
India too is at the cusp of a ‘digital health’ revolution.
The Indian healthcare sector is growing at a rapid pace and is currently valued at
US$100 billion.
With increased digital adoption, the healthcare sector is expected to grow at a
CAGR of 23% to US$280 billion by 2020.
With Electronic Health Records, Mobile Healthcare, Hospital Information
System, Technology Enabled Care, Telemedicine and other technologies
gaining wide acceptance in the sector, clearly Digital Healthcare is the way
forward.

DIGITAL HEALTH

DIGITAL HEALTH INITIATIVES BY
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
• The government has taken several initiatives in recent years to strengthen
digital healthcare in India.
• Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has undertaken various initiatives using
Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) for improving efficiency
& effectiveness of the public healthcare system.
• Ministry is continuously working on planning and introducing more of ICT
initiatives.
• These ICT initiatives are:
• National Health Portal (NHP)
• E-Hospital
• Digital AIIMS:
• Online Registration System (ORS)
• NIKSHAY
• Mother & Child Tracking System (MCTS)
• Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP)
• Digital Payments
• National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) etc.

ICT INITIATIVES
1. NATIONAL HEALTH PORTAL (NHP)
• Its objective is to create awareness amongst the citizens about health, Government
programmes & services in Health Sector.
• National Health Portal (NHP) provides information to citizens and stakeholders in
different languages (currently six languages Hindi, English, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali,
and Punjabi).
• A voice portal, providing information through a toll-free number 1800-180-1104 and
Mobile App are also available. Website: http://www.nhp.gov.in

2. E-HOSPITAL
• e-Hospital is an open source health information management system,
specifically meant for hospitals in the Government sector.
• Major functional areas covered by the system include patient care,
laboratory services, work flow based document information exchange,
human resources, and medical records management
Website:https://ehospital.nic.in/ehospitalsso/

3. DIGITAL AIIMS
• The Digital AIIMS project, implemented as part of the Digital India Initiative,
has been widely termed as the First Digital Revolution in Healthcare in India.
• It has two components “ the e-Hospital Project and the AIIMS
Transformation Project.
• The online registration software for AIIMS and three other hospitals of Delhi
was launched on July 4, 2015 as part of Digital India initiatives by the Prime
Minister of India.
• The Digital AIIMS project, with nearly 45 lakh beneficiaries, has had the
highest footfalls of Digital India Projects.
• AIIMS has been felicitated by the Ministry of Electronics & Information
Technology for reaching the milestone of India’s First Fully Digital Public
Hospital.

4. ONLINE REGISTRATION SYSTEM (ORS)
• In order to improve ease of services for
citizens, Online Registration System (ORS) launched in July 2015
provides services to citizens for taking online registration & appointment,
payment of fees, online viewing diagnostic reports, enquiring availability
of blood online etc. in various public hospitals

5. NIKSHAY FOR TB
• Launch Year: 2012.
• Objective: To keep a track of the TB patients across the country
• Working: Whenever a new patient is registered on NIKSHAY, an SMS is sent to the
patient with registration ID and details of Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course
(DOTS) Operator along with advisory note to take the regular medicine. Daily SMS is
sent to all monitoring authorities.
• Benefit: Proper monitoring and tracking of the TB patients and ensuring timely delivery
of the medication. More than 3.5 lakh TB patients have been registered since its launch in
June 2012.

6. MOTHER AND CHILD
TRACKING SYSTEM (MCTS)
• Launch Year: 2009 . Objective: To collate the information of all pregnant women and infants
• Working: The MCTS software sends reminders to the Auxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANMs) or
ASHAs on the various treatments to be availed by the expecting mothers having mobile phones.
Once a mother receives her immunization, ANMs have to send the details to the MCTS service
through an SMS. After the enrolment, every expectant mother receives SMS regarding their next
immunization and check up dates.
• Benefit: Ensures timely delivery of maternal and child health services from conception till 40
days after delivery in the case of pregnant women and up to five years for children. Over 10.5
Crore pregnant women and children have been registered in MCTS by the January 2014.

7. INTEGRATED DISEASE
SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM (IDSP)
• Launch Year: 2004
• Objective: To detect and respond to disease outbreaks
• Working: Weekly disease surveillance data on epidemic prone disease is
collected from reporting units, such as sub-centres, primary health centres,
community health centres, hospitals, and medical colleges. At present, over
90% districts report such weekly data through e-mail/portal. The weekly
data are analysed by State Surveillance Unit/District Surveillance Unit
(SSU/DSU for disease trends.
• Benefit: Whenever there is rising trend of illnesses, it is timely investigated
for diagnosing and controlling the outbreak. On an average, 30-40
outbreaks are reported every week by the States. 1584 outbreaks in 2012,
1964 outbreaks in 2013, and in 2014, 67 outbreaks have been reported till
26th January.

Source: https://idsp.nic.in/

8. NATIONAL ORGAN & TISSUE TRANSPLANT
ORGANISATION (NOTTO):
In order to promote organ
donation amongst citizens at
large, National Organ &
Tissue Transplant
Organisation through its
web-portal offers services for
Online Registration for
Organ/Tissue Transplantation
or Retrieval and Online
pledge registry by citizen for
organ donation.

MOBILE BASED PROGRAMS
(BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA)
1. Tobacco Cessation Programme:
It is a mobile-based interventional
initiative for counselling and helping
people to quit tobacco, by giving a
missed call to 011-22901701. Currently
over 20 lakhs total missed calls have
been captured and around 15 lakhs users
are registered for this programme.
2. mDiabetes Program: It is a
mobile-based initiative for prevention
and care of diabetes by giving a missed
call to 011-22901701. Currently more
than 1 lakh users are registered for
mDiabetes

MOBILE APPLICATIONS
(BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA)
To harness the wide penetration of mobile connectivity (~ 1 billion
connections), various mobile apps have been launched so far; namely:
1. Vaccine Tracker (Indradhanush Immunization):support parents in
tracking immunization status of their children and helps them in ensuring
complete and timely vaccination. Launch- April, 2016

MOBILE APPLICATIONS
2. India Fights Dengue (enables a user
to check Dengue Symptoms, get nearest
Hospital / Blood bank information and
also share feedback)
Launch- April, 2016
3. NHP Swasth Bharat: Initiative from
National Health Portal to find detailed
information regarding healthy life styles,
disease conditions, symptoms and their
management and First AID. Launch- April,
2016

MOBILE APPLICATIONS
4.NHP Directory Services Mobile App.
(provides information related to
Hospitals across India)
Launch- June, 2015
5. No More Tension Mobile
App. (information on stress management
related aspects)
Launch- November, 2016

MOBILE APPLICATIONS
6. Pradhan Mantri Surakshit
Matritva Abhiyan Mobile App. (for
reporting pregnancy care related
information from across states)
Launch- November, 2016
7. Mera Aspataal Mobile App: For
recording patient feedback on the services
received from both public and empanelled
private health facilities, thus helping
immensely in improving the quality of
healthcare. Launch- August, 2016

FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE
(INTERNET OF THINGS)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ioy5vyxScXU
• Video 3

CONCLUSION
• The use of ICT in health sectors have focused on three broad categories:
1. Improving functioning of health care systems, which includes
management of patients care and records, administrative and ordering
systems .
2. Improving the delivery of health care through better diagnosis, training
among workers, and supporting them in primary health care.
3. Improving communication in health services, including improved
communication between workers and feedback on the impact of health
services and interventions.
• The gaps between health professionals and the communities served by
them can be addressed by implementing ICT in healthcare.
• A smart, careful and contextual integration of ICT in delivery of healthcare
service should be a prioritised strategy to aid complex health needs of a
country.

REFERENCES
[1]. ASSOCHAM India report on “ICT in Healthcare Opportunities and
Challenges”
[2]. http://pmssy-mohfw.nic.in/tech_healthcare.aspx
[3]. https://mohfw.gov.in/
[4]. https://www.ciiblog.in/digital-health-the-way-forward/
[5]. www.google.com
[6]. www.expresshealthcare.in
[7]. https://medium.com/@iihmrdelhi/telemedicine-the-current-scenario-in-
india-bdf668beacea

USE OF ICT IN HEALTHCARE
• The use of ICT in healthcare can be categorized into 4 main streams
such as;
• Health & Education
• Hospital Management System
• Health Research
• Health Data Management

HEALTH & EDUCATION
• In this Digital era, people can easily seek, access, learn &
communicate with others within a quick span of time.
• This makes education accessible, available and open to all.
• Health education creates awareness among the public about
the communicable diseases, health status, prevention measures
and various current diagnostic & therapeutic procedures.
• This gives a freedom to the people to choose the best hospitals
and doctors to approach for treatment and to have their life in a
healthy way.

HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
• ICT helps the Hospital management to lead the organization in
a successful way.
• This helps the management to overcome the challenges faced
by the Hospital.
• ICT helps the management to improve the patient safety and
satisfaction, get updated to the latest technology, have a
knowledge on population health & statistics and keep a note
on the government mandates on track.
• Primarily, the workplace can be strengthened.

HEALTH RESEARCH
• ICT in healthcare research helps in finding the possible
prevention measures to eradicate and reduce the spread of
diseases.
• We can find new technology in diagnosis which reduces the
time and cost.
• This saves the lives of many individuals by providing
treatment in advance.
• Through ICT, the traditional healthcare systems can be
eliminated and new models can be formed for effective quality
care.

HEALTH DATA MANAGEMENT
• The fundamental use of ICT in Hospital is for electronic
storage of medical data i.e. Electronic Medical Records
(EMR).
• This helps to retrieve the information easily.
• Through ICT the data can be transferred to the patient or to the
Doctors for consultation.
• The patient can have medical records in hand which can be
used anywhere, anytime.

Technology for Healthcare and Mankind

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