OVERVIEW – Last-Mile Access to Essential Health Services via Telemedicine
According to WHO,Telemedicine isdefined as “The delivery of healthcare services, where distance is a critical factor, by all healthcare professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation, and for the continuing education of healthcare providers, all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals and their communities”. A telemedicine network is an integrated healthcare network that uses modern telecommunication and information technologies to provide comprehensive healthcare services to a specific group.
In Bangladesh, the inequitable distribution of qualified medical practitioners is the most compelling reason for use of telemedicine. With84% of doctors located in urban areas althoughover 75% of the population live in rural areas, the doctor-to-population ratio is 1:1,500 in urban areas and 1:15,000 in rural areas. The average number of hospital beds available per 1000 population is 0.25, which is higher in urban areas and lower in rural areas. This is the gross inequality in the distribution of healthcare services between the urban and rural areas, and consequently between the rich and the poor.
As doctors are unavailable in rural areas, rural inhabitants often have to depend on “quacks” who are not qualified to diagnose diseases or prescribe medicines.Employing telemedicine is one of the best options for delivery of healthcare services in distant and remote areas. It is also more economical, cost-effective, and sustainable to link remote and rural places with a telecommunications link than to physically send the doctors to these places.
ACTIVITY – Telemedicine Project
Good HEAL Trust aims to establish Telemedicine Centers across Bangladesh to help bridge the huge gap in the inequitable distribution of qualified healthcare providers and access to essential health services.
Good HEAL Trust will launch this initiative by targeting and engaging in a long-term strategic partnership with 4 reputed Ready-Made Garments (RMG) factories in Bangladesh in order to most appropriately and cost-effectively establish the baseline standards for operating and sustaining Telemedicine Centers in Bangladesh. The Telemedicine Centers will offer services for the most common illnesses, such as fever, common cold, pain, diarrhea, dysentery, as well as for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and asthma. Antenatal and postnatal care, childhood vaccination, and health education services will also be provided. Each Telemedicine Center will adhere to WHO-approved standards and protocols and employ qualified and trained physicians, nurses, and health technologists.
The initial 4 Telemedicine Centers to be established are:
| Name of Partnering Institution | Location | # workers |
| OPEX Garments | Mirpur, Dhaka | 15,000 |
| Desh Garments Ltd. | Kalurghat, Chittagong | 10,000 |
| Virtual Knitwear Ltd. | Pubail, Gazipur | 5,000 |
| Oasis Hi-Tech Sportswear Ltd. | Comilla EPZ | 3,000 |
| TOTAL # OF WORKERS | 33,000 | |