Journal of Reproductive Health and Contraception

Affordable rural Telemedicine is not just for developing economies, RoI matters everywhere

Statement of the Problem: Telemedicine had been languishing on the sidelines for more than two and a half decades in India. Many wrote of the need to bring telemedicine into the mainstream,
regrettably without much success(1). It is a fact that before the Covid pandemic there actually were certain medical groups which insisted that telemedicine had no legal backing in India(2).
All of that changed in early 2020 with the Covid pandemic. The pandemic very forcefully and spectacularly, revealed the capabilities and reach of this technology. With the emergence of the
pandemic the government of India, in the early part of 2020, quickly reviewed the situation and legalized Telemedicine practice by releasing a gazette notification on “Telemedicine Practice
Guidelines 2020”(3). This led to the early diagnosis, isolation, treatment, care and follow-up of millions not just in remote villages but also the urban environment. During this period, true to the noble ideals of medicine, the focus was only on saving lives and cost did not matter. It is however a fact that there are challenges in telemedicine with respect to (wrt) ensuring a good
return on investment (RoI). It has, traditionally, been difficult to justify the costs of telemedicine from the hardnosed point of view of an accountant. This is because it is difficult for doctors to convert the tears of gratitude and grateful thanks of a mother (whose baby was saved due to an early telemedicine consultation) into Rupees or Dollars, that the accountant can add to his profit and loss statement. This is not just a problem for developing countries; advanced nations too, are acutely aware of these challenges(4).

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