Telemedicine

Telemedicine, is the delivery of any healthcare service or transmission of wellness information (Health Records) using telecommunications technology, in other words it is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to check, monitor and improve patients' wellness even from other part of the globe. With telemedicine the patients get specialized care faster and cheaper.

According to a research, 78% of doctor visits could be handled by phone and could reduce emergency room visits by 60%, saving nearly 60 billion dollars. Telemedicine doctors spend an average 14 minutes per patient when compared with an average of 4 minutes in the doctor's office conventional approach, so 91% of telemedicine consultations result in a resolution with no further action needed hence the Patient satisfaction averages 97% with telemedicine compared with 67% for doctor visits.

Associated with telemedicine is the term "Tele-Health," which is often used to encompass a broader definition of remote healthcare that does not always involve clinical services. Telehealth delivery could be as simple as multiple health professionals discussing a case over the phone or using technology to transmit health records between providers to determine the diagnosis and treatment plan. The key functionality is documentation of the decisions based on clinical information received. It is necessary to populate the patient's record which can be shared among other healthcare professionals to ensure the best outcome for the patient.

Video-conferencing, exchange of health records, e-health including patient portals, remote monitoring, medical education and nursing call centers are all considered part of telemedicine and telehealth. Telemedicine is not a separate or new medical specialty. Telemedicine solutions are often part of a larger investment by health care institutions in either information technology or the delivery of clinical care.

Telemedicine incorporate many types of programs and services provided to the patient who expects efficient and effective treatment.

FatPipe takes a holistic approach to provide telemedicine solutions. Consistent with this approach, FatPipe has a team of experts of multifarious specialties that are able to provide and implement leading-edge solutions to match a variety of needs. FatPipe's experts have a wide range of domain knowledge in the areas of IT infrastructure, electronic record systems, medical software systems, infrastructure monitoring, training and continuous education. FatPipe will provide a world-class network coupled with world-class software which will enable the healthcare industry to provide effective and quality medical services. This system will surpass the project's goal of providing citizens living in distant places with access to High Standard Health care services through the application of Information and Communications Technologies.

Benefits of Implementing Telemedicine

The benefits of using the FatPipe Telemedicine System include but are not limited to the following broad categories:

For the Country

• Robust, best-of-breed Telemedicine System
• Access to FatPipe's world class expertise in IT infrastructure and software services
• Access to modern medical services for rural and remote populations
• Accessing previously unavailable medical specialties through remote overseas partnerships
• Enhanced quality of life for citizens
• Enhancing skills of local personnel
• Greater participation in government health programs leading to improving population health parameters
• Reduce the spread of disease such as yellow fever, malaria, typhoid, HIV, AIDS and more, by educating people, and training healthcare staff to handle early stage disease management.
• Donor aid is getting scarce and many countries vie for the same source of funds. Funding agencies are more inclined to support programs that show efficiency, reduce fraud, and reduce waste; and improves access, which results in an overall improvement in health indices.

For Citizen's Well-being

• Gain access to national and international experts and volunteers to help solve complex problems
• Get second opinion of doctors or experts at lower cost, as documents can be viewed remotely from a server
• Less travel for patients or physicians and hence they are more apt to use health service
• Tiered system of giving care. Focus care in most needed areas, while implementing preventive care in all areas
• Spot problem faster in cost effective manner
• Track patients for follow-up
• Better live-births, and pre/post natal care of baby and mother due to better patient management and patient education
• Get quality medicines and treatment

Improvement in the Quality and the Delivery of Healthcare

• Better training of hospital staff resulting in less mistakes and lower cost
• Better implementation of immunization, vaccination and adherence to WHO guidelines
• Show donors that their money is well utilized

For the Government

• Tracks Physicians, patients, types of illnesses, occurrence rates, etc. in a national health database
• Analysis of statistical data will give Cameroon the ability to respond and address widespread diseases more effectively
• Meet mandated targets of WHO and other Government agencies
• Better disease management with the help of the healthcare system
• Quality healthcare with limited resources maximizes budget allocations
• If medical expertise is not available in certain areas, the system can be leveraged to use experts from foreign medical systems and low costs. FatPipe can provide all infrastructure such as VoIP, video conferencing, web cams, digital imaging software, secure VPNs, etc.
• Physicians are able to serve wider areas in a time effective manner using the Telemedicine System
• Distribute medicine more effectively by analysing usage patterns
• Reduce fraud in medical supplies, medicines and other resources through enhanced electronic record keeping and monitoring
• Enhance revenues and reduce overall healthcare expenditures - using this system will vastly improve efficiency; reduce waste and fraud while resulting in better healthcare across all sections of the society. Service fees for various tests and procedures can be charged to those that have the ability to pay, thus increasing revenue streams