Application of Handheld Tele-ECG for Health Care Delivery in Rural India
Autor: | Meenu Singh, Amit Agarwal, Vineet Sinha, Rohit Manoj Kumar, Nishant Jaiswal, Ishita Jindal, Pankaj Pant, Munish Kumar |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2014 |
Předmět: | |
Zdroj: | International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications, Vol 2014 (2014) |
Druh dokumentu: | article |
ISSN: | 1687-6415 1687-6423 |
DOI: | 10.1155/2014/981806 |
Popis: | Telemonitoring is a medical practice that involves remotely monitoring patients who are not at the same location as the health care provider. The purpose of our study was to use handheld tele-electrocardiogram (ECG) developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) to identify heart conditions in the rural underserved population where the doctor-patient ratio is low and access to health care is difficult. The objective of our study was clinical validation of handheld tele-ECG as a screening tool for evaluation of cardiac diseases in the rural population. ECG was obtained in 450 individuals (mean age 31.49 ± 20.058) residing in the periphery of Chandigarh, India, from April 2011 to March 2013, using the handheld tele-ECG machine. The data were then transmitted to physicians in Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, for their expert opinion. ECG was interpreted as normal in 70% individuals. Left ventricular hypertrophy (9.3%) was the commonest abnormality followed closely by old myocardial infarction (5.3%). Patient satisfaction was reported to be ~95%. Thus, it can be safely concluded that tele-ECG is a portable, cost-effective, and convenient tool for diagnosis and monitoring of heart diseases and thus improves quality and accessibility, especially in rural areas. |
Databáze: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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