The newly formed Haryana State Chapter— Telemedicine Society of India (TSI) was inaugurated at Amrita Hospital, Faridabad recently. Delivering the inaugural speech, Swami Nijamritananda Puri, Administrative Director, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad said, “Ours is a country where most people do not have access to proper medical care. Though there are several reasons, one of the main reasons is the geographical factor. Launching the Haryana Chapter will help transcend the obstacles and help people denied advanced medical assistance.”

Telemedicine is often called telehealth, digital medicine, e-health, or m-health (mobile health). The Haryana Chapter aims to connect patients who need medical help with in-house technical teams using telemedicine and clinics on wheel units.

Prof Meenu Singh, President of National Telemedicine Society & Director of AIIMS, Rishikesh said, “The government of Haryana started telemedicine Delhi-NCR and Chandigarh many years ago. It is 25 since telemedicine services began in Haryana when Prof. BD Gupta introduced it in 1997.  In 2005, the Prime Minister of India started telemedicine along with ISRO and the Department of Education and Technology. It is gratifying to see Amrita collaborating with ISRO and other agencies.” 

Stressing the need to bridge the healthcare digital divide, Dr Puneet Dhar, President, Haryana Telemedicine Chapter said, “About 1.3 billion people in the country fall in the spectrum of the healthcare digital divide. Healthcare infrastructure development is vital to the country's development, and telemedicine can help. The increasing penetration of smartphones, mobile connectivity, and the internet makes it a game changer."

The TSI’s Haryana Chapter will collaborate with all medical colleges/institutions to provide an in-training for future doctors. It is the 16^th state chapter of TSI in India. They will also team up with various stakeholders for quality improvement in all aspects of healthcare- preventive, primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.