Two entrepreneurs from India based in West Asia have converted the economic and social ruins caused by the Covid-19 pandemic into an opportunity and this is all set to revolutionise the present system of medical consultation and diagnosis. Girish Narayanan and his younger brother Rajesh Narayanan have come out with a state-of-the- art medical diagnostic system that offers a win-win situation for all stake holders.
A concept which has not been visualised even by Alvin Toffler who took the readers for a flight to the future for an aerial view of what science and technology hold for them, Primary Health Centres and Primary Clinics sans doctors, is what the Narayanan brothers offer the people.
“It is an integration of tele medicine, medical and information technology. This is a medical device integration to support all medical specialities in a single platform. We are offering the last mile connectivity, which brings physicians and patients together in real time world,” said Girish Narayanan, a speed buff who could be seen riding the advanced versions of high power bikes across West Asia and Sri Lanka most of the time honing up his racing skills.
Explaining the salient points of the Devise Assisted Tele Medicine (DATM) system, brother Rajesh said that it was the ideal technology for which India was wating. “The primary clinic would be managed by a person trained in the basics of medical science. He/she would have skills in measuring/testing nearly 40 medical parameters like blood pressure,
ECG, body temperature, focussing the camera on ear, nose, throat and eyes as per the requirements of the physician,” said Rajesh. The Asha workers employed by the State and Centre Governments could be trained in this art, he pointed out.
The clinic would have a medical cart with which the parameters could be transmitted to the physician sitting in a far away place. The TV screen at the primary clinic could be viewed by the physician through his iPhone or smart phone and he decides the kind of medicines to be administered. “The stethoscope, with which the doctors monitor the heart beats have been replaced with electronic and remotely operated contraption,” said Rajesh Narayanan.
A primary clinic sans doctor could be set up at a cost of Rs 25 lakh, said Rajesh Narayanan, the chief operating officer of Granteq, the company that brings the technology to our doorsteps, A corporate hospital in Kerala’s Kozhikode was the first to establish a primary clinic of this kind with which unlimited patients and unlimited doctors could be brought together on a same platform.
Girish said the uniqueness of the system lies in the facility to diagnose and treat sick patients in place and decrease exposure to others. “It also protect medical providers so that they could continue to deliver care without interruption,” said Girish. This has to be seen in the backdrop of the number of doctors and medical staff who sacrificed their lives during the pandemic.
“This is the ideal telehealth solution the medical fraternity was waiting for,” said Dr Rajeev B Pillai, who heads the Tele Medicine Users Association of India. Going by the catchword coined by a fast moving consumer good company, one can always think of Girish and Rajesh Narayanan when faced with issues like pandemic and shortage of doctors. Last heard, Granteq is in consultation with corporate groups in India for setting up doctor-less PHCs and Primary Clinics.