Sick patients in remote Pakistani villages can now get high quality medical services that were previously lacking or absent via an Internet-based program provided by the U.S. Department of State and IBM, its private sector partner. The Pakistan Telemedicine Project provides an extensive array of healthcare consultation and education via the Internet. The subject areas include: pre-operative planning and follow-up; cardiac assessment; ophthalmology, dermatology, radiology, infectious disease, and pre-natal evaluations; and medical triage for traumas and acute illnesses.
Moving information instead of people is the objective of this cutting-edge program. “Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world – a nation of 173 million people,” said internationally recognized telemedicine expert and surgeon, Dr. Asif Zafar, of the Holy Family Hospital. “The goal of this project is to highlight technology’s ability to overcome a significant healthcare imbalance—more than 75 percent of the population lives in rural areas but only 22 percent of the doctors work there.”
The partnership combines an Internet-access portal providing interactive collaboration tools such as secure email, voice and video conferencing on a secure telemedicine network with advanced medical peripheral devices including portable ultrasound, digital cameras, EKG, stethoscope and X-ray machine.
“With the proliferation and fusion of information, telecommunications and medical technologies, we can bring advanced healthcare services to people in remote geographies with compassion, efficiency and affordability,” said Dan Pelino, General Manager, IBM Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry. “The Pakistan Telemedicine Project brings together the strengths of both public and private partners to provide a global blueprint – one that can be replicated to enhance the lives of people worldwide by providing quality healthcare at the point of need.”
The new system leverages the low-cost, ubiquitous power of the Internet to connect hub hospitals to what the team hopes will be an increasing number of spoke facilities. In turn, the system can access and engage the help of medical experts working at some of the most elite medical institutions in Pakistan and around the world. The system can also be used for other applications, such as on-line education.
“The Department of State, through the Pakistan Telemedicine Project, is demonstrating the transformative power of telecommunications technology under the U.S. Government’s Digital Freedom Initiative, which seeks to encourage the spread of technology to the developing world,” said Ferial Saeed, Deputy U.S. Coordinator & Office Director for International Communications & Information Policy. “Telecommunications technology not only underpins global economic growth and development but also can be used to promote both good government and good governance – from online medical and educational initiatives that deliver services and opportunities to people and places too often overlooked, to e-government programs that increase the public trust. Under this public-private partnership, we hope to demonstrate how technology and Internet-based connectivity can significantly improve the quality of life for people in remote locations.”
The Public-Private Partnership members are:
U.S. Department of State
IBM
Wateen Telecom
Medweb
USAID
Motorola
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Center, U.S. Department of Defense
Embassy of Pakistan, Washington, D.C.
Holy Family Hospital
District Attock Hospital
Moving information instead of people is the objective of this cutting-edge program. “Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world – a nation of 173 million people,” said internationally recognized telemedicine expert and surgeon, Dr. Asif Zafar, of the Holy Family Hospital. “The goal of this project is to highlight technology’s ability to overcome a significant healthcare imbalance—more than 75 percent of the population lives in rural areas but only 22 percent of the doctors work there.”
The partnership combines an Internet-access portal providing interactive collaboration tools such as secure email, voice and video conferencing on a secure telemedicine network with advanced medical peripheral devices including portable ultrasound, digital cameras, EKG, stethoscope and X-ray machine.
“With the proliferation and fusion of information, telecommunications and medical technologies, we can bring advanced healthcare services to people in remote geographies with compassion, efficiency and affordability,” said Dan Pelino, General Manager, IBM Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry. “The Pakistan Telemedicine Project brings together the strengths of both public and private partners to provide a global blueprint – one that can be replicated to enhance the lives of people worldwide by providing quality healthcare at the point of need.”
The new system leverages the low-cost, ubiquitous power of the Internet to connect hub hospitals to what the team hopes will be an increasing number of spoke facilities. In turn, the system can access and engage the help of medical experts working at some of the most elite medical institutions in Pakistan and around the world. The system can also be used for other applications, such as on-line education.
“The Department of State, through the Pakistan Telemedicine Project, is demonstrating the transformative power of telecommunications technology under the U.S. Government’s Digital Freedom Initiative, which seeks to encourage the spread of technology to the developing world,” said Ferial Saeed, Deputy U.S. Coordinator & Office Director for International Communications & Information Policy. “Telecommunications technology not only underpins global economic growth and development but also can be used to promote both good government and good governance – from online medical and educational initiatives that deliver services and opportunities to people and places too often overlooked, to e-government programs that increase the public trust. Under this public-private partnership, we hope to demonstrate how technology and Internet-based connectivity can significantly improve the quality of life for people in remote locations.”
The Public-Private Partnership members are:
U.S. Department of State
IBM
Wateen Telecom
Medweb
USAID
Motorola
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Center, U.S. Department of Defense
Embassy of Pakistan, Washington, D.C.
Holy Family Hospital
District Attock Hospital
