Millions of people in Southeast Asia today lack
access to affordable, quality healthcare.
According
to Rural Poverty, four billion people in Asia are scattered throughout rural
areas or compacted into towns and cities on a land area of almost 45 million
km², roughly 17 percent of the world’s surface.
In rural Myanmar, 70 percent of the country's 58 million people live in
villages that lack basic healthcare, according to IRIN Asia. In the event of an
emergency, it may take days for a villager living in a remote community to
reach hospitals or clinics located only in towns.
If they
had instant access to healthcare information and data during a medical
emergency, imagine the number of lives that could be saved.
Technologies
that enable instant communications play a vital role in transforming the
healthcare sector into a more efficient, patient-centered system where
individuals have easy access to eHealth and telemedicine solutions. As
connected devices become ever-present in the region, many companies and NGOs
are developing innovative eHealth solutions to address this issue.
According
to a 2011 survey conducted by NetMotion Wireless Inc, 62.7 percent of respondents
working in hospitals or multi-hospital systems reported increased productivity
for mobile clinicians and staff since deployment of wireless data applications.
Accessing telemedicine and eHealth technologies through a wireless network
provides instant information which enables medical workers to reach out to
isolated communities. However, this is compromised as most remote communities
have poor telecommunications infrastructure or no telecoms available at all.
This is
where satellite communications can bridge the gap. Satellite technologies
connect remote and urban communities by providing the connectivity needed to
deploy eHealth solutions that allow for the provision of healthcare in areas
not covered by telecommunications infrastructure.
Equipping
mobile doctors, healthcare workers, NGOs, missionaries, military personnel and
civil servants with mobile satellite solutions opens opportunities for isolated
communities to access quality healthcare anywhere and anytime. For instance,
eHealth for remote Australia will allow The Royal Flying Doctor Service instant
access to the essential medical history information of more than 750,000
Australians living in remote and isolated areas of New South Wales, South
Australia, Queensland and Western Australia, according to Getnetworking.
Satellite
terminals are designed to be portable and lightweight which allow users to
easily connect remote clinics and medical teams. This enables them to access
eHealth solutions, be it access to intelligent decision support systems that
aid them in diagnosis and treatment, or transmitting a patient’s vital signs in
real-time to experts in urban areas, who can diagnose and monitor patients
remotely.
The same
can also be applied to natural disasters such as floods or droughts. Data on
extreme weather conditions can be quickly relayed to remote workers enabling
them to warn rural villages before it is too late.
High
broadband connectivity also allows for quality video across camera feeds, allowing
doctors to see both patient and real time medical images and readings without
an external video mixer or toggling between images.
There is
no doubt the future of the eHealth market is prosperous, especially in
Asia-Pacific. Increased awareness in providing affordable medical care services
to a wider population and government commitment will play a huge role in
driving uptake.
Frost
& Sullivan Healthcare Industry Analyst, Natasha Gulati stated that
governments across Asia-Pacific are and will continue to be the major
architects of the telehealth industry in this region. Government involvement
will drive initiatives including pilot projects, grants and funds to promote or
even construct telehealth systems. This in turn will create opportunities for private
ICT infrastructure companies, software vendors, and device manufacturers to
partner with government.
Growth in
the Asia-Pacific region will be driven by improved awareness of the ability to
provide affordable medical care to the wider population, with the governments
of India and China rapidly adopting and pushing telehealth to cater to the
needs of their huge rural patient populations. With such need and momentum it
is expected that by 2018 the region will contribute up to $8 billion to the
global telehealth and telemedicine market, up from $2 billion in 2011, state
healthcare sector experts GlobalData.
With
satellite technologies, the untapped medical benefits to remote communities are
vast and with this comes a greater demand for more bandwidth. As satellite
technologies continue to evolve, we can foresee a future where isolated and
remote communities have increased access to quality healthcare; a right that
the world’s population deserve, no matter where they live.
Nada El
Marji
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated
in Singapore since 1994.
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