mHealth and 3G are the next big wave

3G is a game changing and disruptive technology. The problem of bandwidth, penetration and access will be solved. You can run voice, text, large images, video and other media file on the 3G network. Telemedicine will get a boost. Doctors will use more 3G Mobile platforms for remote access to EMR. Big size Radiology images can be seen remotely. Patients can be hooked to EMR for remote monitoring. 3G will become another viable option for the cloud computing. I can keep counting the possibilities...

However in terms of cost the Telecom providers have to plan for reducing entery barriers, exit barriers, provide instant gratification.

Insurance, Cash-less Transactions, Standards

The recent issue in the press about Insurance refusing to honor cash-less transactions has caused a lot of heart burn. The major reason for this deadlock is due to lack of standards in Indian Healthcare industry. To be fair obviously the insurance company wants an audit trails of what, why and when something was done to the patient and the charges applied. However the way we practice medicine, there is no incentive or reprimand for keeping or not keeping medical records respectively.

The issue is of transparency. Friction with insurance can be reduced if the Signs, Symptoms and Diagnosis is recorded as per ICD and Procedures are recorded as per CPT and the Billing Master is mapped to the CPT codes. This how it is done world over, so why not in India. Obviously our medical colleges forgot to teach a us a lot of things!