Reaching the Unreached- A Model for Sustainable Community Development Through Information and Communication Technology

Abstract

Telemedicine, which is defi ned as ‘the practice of healthcare using interactive audio, visual and data communications and includes healthcare delivery, diagnosis, consultation and treatment as well as education and transfer of medical data’, has been gaining popularity in the health services sector. Dermatology as a specialty is particularly suitable for telemedicine and more so in geographic regions with scarcity of qualifi ed manpower, where it has greatly facilitated the outreach of specialist care delivery. However, the cost of telemedicine technology is a signifi cant hurdle which makes the sustainability of such services challenging. Maximum utilization of such technology by active participation of well motivated benefi ciary communities and bringing innovative strategies for its use will be crucial in sustaining such services in rural communities.