When we think of the problems plaguing the developing world and other remote areas with limited access to healthcare, we often think first of diseases associated with poor water quality or of infectious diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2020, mental illness will become the second most significant illness in the world. In a country like India, with a population of over one billion, mental health professionals can't begin to address the population's psychological and psychiatric care needs.
Additionally, because of the stigma associated with mental health problems, religious beliefs and superstitions often keep people from seeking care.
"In India, it is estimated that only 10 percent of mental health patients receive active psychiatric assistance or help," said Girish Kumar, who is practice head of India's Healthcare & Life Sciences division for HP Enterprise Services.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has teamed up with the M.S. Chellamuthu Trust & Research Foundation (MSC Trust) to deliver psychiatric care to remote areas of India. MSC Trust works to provide early detection, treatment and rehabilitation for mental health disorders in Tamil Nadu, a rural area in southern India.
HP plans to network small mobile healthcare vans to central hubs so that doctors can deliver consultations in rural areas using voice, SMS and video conferencing technology. The vans would visit small, temporary once-a-week clinics in rural areas. The virtual health platform contains accessories like digital stethoscopes and digital ECGs.
In addition to delivering care at these small centers, an air-conditioned virtual health van will be deployed as a mobile clinic in remote parts of Tamil Nadu.
In addition, HP Enterprise Services has developed a mobile health application that will record data on patients' medication intake. The app, called Medication Alert & Adherence System (MAAS) will provide SMS reminders to patients so that they will take their meds daily. Prescription information is stored in a central system.
The app then records whether or not the patient took the meds and tracks the data for a number of purposes including conducting clinical observation, recording drug efficacy and determining outcomes.
"Psychiatric illness carries a heavy stigma and treatment in rural parts of the country," explained Dr. C. Ramasubramaniam, who is MSC Trust's founder and consultant psychiatrist. "Technology plays a critical role in enabling proper medical treatment, such as early diagnosis and intervention, which can significantly improve the efficacy of the treatment and medication."
Edited by
Alisen Downey
