Telemedicine in South Asia for rural people: Current scenario and future recommendations

Telemedicine encompasses methods for electronically transmitting medical information to sustain and/or improve patient´s health condition by using information and communication technology. Different countries of South Asia have tried to introduce telemedicine services from different perspectives for the rural people where health care facilities are poor through its private and public partnership. This paper examines different telemedicine models of South Asia and finds out the potentials difficulties faced by different models and presents the factors which should be assessed carefully for the successful implementation of telemedicine which will be feasible, easily maintainable, sustainable and cost effective solution for the poor people of rural areas of South Asia regions.