April 13: For thousands of patients in Lower Assam, who do not have the facilities to avail the best medical care, the opening of a telemedicine centre in Bongaigaon has come as a welcome news.

The telemedicine centre was inaugurated at Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (BRPL) Hospital, Dhaligaon last week.

A.K. Sarmah, managing director of BRPL, inaugurated the centre by holding a video-conference with neurosurgeon Prof. K. Ganapathy, who is also vice-president of Apollo Hospital and head of Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation.

The Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd had teamed up with Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation to launch the centre. Apollo Hospitals is a leading figure in the hospital business.

Telemedicine, through its integrated audio-visual facility, enables doctors in remote places to consult specialists and super-specialists in premier hospitals outside the region and abroad for better diagnosis and treatment of patients.

This also reduces the burden on patients and their families by removing the need to travel to major cities for treatment.

Telemedicine also helps in professional enrichment of doctors by allowing them to take part in various training and learning programmes through the system.

Lower Assam, mainly comprising districts of Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, does not have many good hospitals and the patients here are forced to travel all the way down to the state capital for advanced treatment.

Sarmah termed the day as a red-letter day for the BRPL because of the vast benefits that the patients could derive from the new facility.

He also spoke of the importance of maintaining employees’ health, both from the viewpoints of their welfare as well as fitness, to optimise the productivity for taking the company ahead.

Kevin Devashia, assistant manager of Apollo Hospital, Chennai, explained the concept of telemedicine to the large gathering at the BRPL Hospital on the occasion.

B.C. Sarma, chief medical officer of the hospital, spoke of the advantages of having the centre and expressed confidence that it would offer a new dimension to healthcare.

He also showed the ISO 9001:2000 certificate received by the hospital from DNV Denmark as a testimony to its systems upgradation.

On the occasion, a continuing medical education (CME) was also viewed through the telemedicine facility where Prof. Ganapathy delivered a lecture on headache, covering causes, manifestations, latest developments on diagnosis and management.

As part of its commitment towards upgrading employee welfare services, systems and facilities of patient care and hospital administration, the company has been improving the facilities at the hospital to meet the standards of Quality Management System ISO:9001. After audit, the DNV Norway included the hospital in the scope of the Quality Management System ISO:9001 Certification with effect from October 22, 2006.