Time to change in Health Care System

How remote medical imaging can make a change.

April 30, 2021

Everyone has seen the movie “ Field of Dreams ” with the famous quote

Shoeless Joe Jackson: If you build it, they will come

But, there is another important quote in the movie that is not mentioned too much.

Archie Graham: We just don't recognize life's most significant moments while they're happening. Back then I thought, "Well, there'll be other days". I didn't realize that that was the only day.

In health care, the shift from being traditional into digital and AI-driven systems happening. The days that we depend on building large and expensive hospitals are over or should be over. Recently we came across an important study from WHO that shows how Telemedicine and remote diagnostics and monitoring can affect people's life. Below you will find one of the case studies that they have done.

The aim of the Telemedicine Support to Promote Maternal and Newborn Health in Remote Provinces of Mongolia's project is to reduce infant and maternal mortality while addressing the gap between urban and rural health care services. The project started in September 2007 and will continue until December 2010. The project’s telemedicine services support Aimags (provinces) with high-risk pregnancy consultations, prenatal ultrasound diagnostics, fetal monitoring, and screening for cervical abnormalities using colposcopy. The services provided by the project are particularly important for women in remote rural regions who do not have the funding to travel for expert opinion.

There have been only two maternal deaths in the eight hospitals [involved in the program]. Early diagnosis of fetal abnormalities is [now] possible in rural hospitals.”

—Dr. Tsedmaa Bataar

A total of 297 doctors, nurses, and midwives were trained for this program between March and December 2009. A total of 598 cases were referred in 2009. Of these, 64% were obstetrical, 21% were gynecological pathology, and 15% were neonatal pathology. Only 36 of these cases were referred to Ulaanbaatar for treatment following the diagnosis, substantially saving the resources of rural residents that would otherwise have gone towards travel expenses.

“Telemedicine support contributes to protecting people in rural areas from financial risks associated with traveling to Ulaanbaatar to obtain tertiary level maternal and newborn care.”

—Midterm Review Report Summary, June 2009