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Telemedicine network could expand

Marin'e Jacobs
By Marin'e Jacobs
Johannesburg, 27 May 2013
SITA is compiling a proposal for further deployment of telemedicine in Limpopo.
SITA is compiling a proposal for further deployment of telemedicine in Limpopo.

The Limpopo Department of Health has requested the State Information IT Agency (SITA) to compile a proposal for discussion for the maintenance and support for the telemedicine network, as well as further rollout. This expansion will include coverage for all 40 public hospitals in the province.

SITA ran a pilot project for telemedicine for the Limpopo Department of Health. Subsequently, the department decided to implement telemedicine in a total of 14 sites, where SITA assisted with connectivity and related project management.

Telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve, maintain, or to assist patients' health status. Public service and administration minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, last week highlighted telemedicine as one of the key government services powered by SITA.

Limpopo is not the first province to benefit from this emerging technology. According to SITA executive for ICT service delivery, Mmakgosi Mosupi, KwaZulu-Natal has a directorate for telemedicine, currently managing 34 telemedicine sites in the province. "[The sites have] video conferencing facilities in a boardroom setting suitable for distance learning and continuing professional development for doctors nurses, etc," says Mosupi.

"The same network is being used for teleConsultation, teleDermatology and telePsychiatry, as well as teleRadiology." A telemedicine coordinating committee and telemedicine site coordinators have also been nominated by the facility management at 30 sites in the province.

Infrastructure

"Telemedicine constitutes healthcare services implemented through network infrastructures such as LAN, WLAN and others, to provide quality healthcare services especially in rural areas, [combining] isolated technologies such as medical devices, network computing, video conferencing, software and telecommunications, into a seamless system," explains Mosupi.

Infrastructure required to set up the telemedicine network includes IT hardware, connectivity hardware, video conferencing hardware, medical hardware and equipment for reading of medical images, medical image graphic products and microscope image diagnosis systems. "Funding in the implementation of the system comes from the relevant provincial departments," she says.

The streamlining of healthcare through telemedicine not only benefits patients, but also health practitioners who can streamline their efforts to assist more and more patients, says Mosupi. "Telemedicine is being used to bring immediate, state-of-the-art healthcare services to patients, many in rural locations. Patients and their families are satisfied because they get immediate attention and reduce travel time, related stress and risks on the roads."

Mosupi also notes that increased access to healthcare through technology means that symptoms and complications can be quickly diagnosed, resulting in better overall health of the patient and the reduction of overcrowding at hospitals. Physicians and specialists utilise various forms of technology in the telemedicine network to increase the accuracy with which they make their initial diagnosis, which reduces unnecessary healthcare and costs.

"Hundreds of telemedicine programmes are available throughout the country, insurance companies are opening their arms to telemedicine, and patients are now more at ease and accepting of the use of technology applications," says Mosupi.

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