e-Health and Public Sector Reforms in India
February 2008, Tarun Seem, egov
This article points to the pivotal role that ICTs can play in accelerating India's health sector reforms. E-health can, for example, help in managing patients in remote locations locally with guidance from specialists in urban centres, without having to travel far, thus compensating for the shortage of infrastructure, manpower and services rural areas. This, however, will require rather high initial investments. The licensing terms and conditions, bilateral and interconnection agreements, non-existence of regulations, security and trade issues are also serious bottlenecks which need to be addressed. While the advantages are significant, a transition from traditional health services to e-health requires not only more financial resources but an attitudinal change as well on the part of the actors about the way health services and their delivery are perceived.