Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Manipal Sikkim Telelink for healthcare

Gangtok: The Central Referral Hospital (CRH) at 5th Mile, Tadong, now has a tele-medicine facility linking it to the Manipal Hospital in Bangalore.
The new installation was inaugurated today by Sikkim governor V. Rama Rao, who is also the chancellor of Sikkim Manipal University (SMU), in the presence of Ramdas Pai, the president of the Manipal Group. The CRH is part of the Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences (SMIMS) under the SMU.
Soon after the inauguration, two cardiac cases were examined over the telecommunication data link, through VSAT, by Dr Anil Bhatt, the head of the cardiology department at Manipal Hospital.
According to senior officials of SMU, the Manipal Hospital, Bangalore had been expanding its portfolio of healthcare services and was progressively emerging as an important player in providing telemedicine solutions globally. These telemedicine initiatives are being taken up with the assistance of Indian Space Research Organisation. The new facility is expected to function continuously in providing tele-consultation through VSAT network.
The governor in his inaugural speech complimented the SMIMS and the CRH and felt that the new tele-link would help the hospital extend super-speciality services to the people of Sikkim.