Society for Administration of Telemedicine and Healthcare Informatics
SATHI is a registered society: 49774/2004, NCT Delhi Societies Act, 1873.
Former Director of AIIMS Prof Sneh Bhargava joined and continues to be a patron.
Others associated include Prof Lazar Mathew, part of DRDO.
Prof Abdul Kalam had appreciated SATHI's work.
SATHI describes itself as a Change Management (80%) organisation.
Capacity building is the main component of Change Management.
Its telehealth projects have been successful because of this approach.
There is emphasis on academic output and scientific research to create publishable evidence.
PMJAY and ABDM implementation requires a trained healthcare workforce.
Telehealth can provide a cost-effective healthcare solution by reducing travel needs.
AI is shaping the future of technology. Quality data is essential fuel for AI advancement.
The presentation illustrates how strengthening local care and Local Village Practitioners can substantially reduce healthcare expenditure and unnecessary travel.
LVP = Local Village Practitioner.
If LVPs are trained to improve care quality, healthcare costs can come crashing down.
Knowledge, drugs and equipment need to be available.
Often used by well-off and upper classes when higher-level treatment is required.
India has a rapidly evolving Digital India landscape.
Public as well as private-sector healthcare providers are expected to maintain digital health records for better health planning and care.
60–70% of care is still in private hands.
The significance of Telemedicine and Electronic Health Records increased with the establishment of Health and Wellness Centres.
Current efforts by the National Health Authority to provide ABHA IDs, along with identification of care providers and healthcare facilities, need support.
Implementation faces challenges because of shortage of trained manpower. Digital Health Assistants can help address this gap.
Existing HSSC programmes such as GDA and Front Line Health Care do not train learners in EHR/EMR and other digital tools.
Health costs are among the biggest contributors to poverty. Better health knowledge, local availability of services, reduced travel for healthcare and retention of healthcare jobs can improve the rural economy. The presentation notes that 52% of rural people in India travel for health-related issues, adding to the already higher cost of tertiary care.
Independent healthcare professionals such as GPs of modern and traditional medicine, dentists and physiotherapists are responsible for 60–70% of health support in India. Because their care costs are relatively low, many cannot afford full-time nurses. DHAs can help improve care by enabling appropriate data entry and EHR creation and maintenance. The presentation reports that well-designed telehealth programmes have previously cut travel by 50–60% without loss of quality. Better-trained personnel at doctors' clinics can improve outcomes, replacing the use of untrained personnel.
Better health-related education allows people to provide improved care for family members. Skills such as vital checks including BP and sugar can reduce unnecessary clinic visits. Data-entry basics and troubleshooting connectivity problems are practical day-to-day skills. Basic Life Support training is increasingly considered essential for health emergencies.
School-level learners can obtain employment early in life and can also work in remote locations as Telehealth Technicians. Such jobs can remain within rural and remote areas, reducing the need for migration and travel.
Better-quality healthcare and increased employment opportunities in remote locations can improve the status of underserved populations.
Reduced travel for healthcare and employment can lead to lower consumption of fossil fuels.
Providing a structured training platform to learners.
EMR and Telemedicine training, with software provided for training.
Online and offline training is conducted chapter by chapter and monitored session by session.
Medical kits and mannequins are arranged for Basic Life Support training.
Practical face-to-face training is provided for three days on each subject, or more if required by students.
On-the-job training or internship is provided for every student.
In-person training is conducted at a decided training facility based on mutually agreed timings and as required.
The course is described as meeting the regulatory and compliance requirements for:
Efforts to obtain formal certification are ongoing and were expected to be in place soon.
Students are evaluated upon completion of the course.
Private doctors where placement took place have appreciated the training.
The programme plans to move beyond training towards actual job creation and entrepreneurship.
Second-opinion services.
https://aims2.health
Lymphedema project experience in Sitapur and many other locations.
Eye clinics in Mizoram and work in blindness control.
Post-tsunami care in Tamil Nadu and PTSD support.
Society for Administration of Telemedicine and Healthcare Informatics
Dr S B Gogia, President
gogia7@gmail.com | sec.sathi@gmail.com | Phone: 9810126883