Meenakshi Mission Hospital Becomes India’s First Hospital to Introduce Telemedicine Robots

16 telemedicine robots enable doctors to treat patients anywhere, anytime; collaborate with specialists from different disciplines from across the world, and monitor patients 24×7, while reducing the risk of infections for both doctors and patients

by Suman Gupta

March 2021: In a first in India, Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre (MMHRC), Madurai, one of South India’s leading multi-specialty hospitals, has deployed 16 mobile Teladoc Health Robots for clinical examinations, diagnosis, and monitoring of health parameters of both out-patients and in-patients. These robots are the preferred choice of the world’s top six hospitals. MMHRC is the only healthcare institution in India to deploy these.

Said Dr. S. Gurushankar, Chairman, Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai: “These telemedicine robots from Teladoc are a substantial addition to the healthcare capabilities available in Tamil Nadu. They have empowered our doctors to treat patients anywhere and anytime. We can now get expert opinion from a specialist anywhere in the world. Doctors from different disciplines can come together to treat a patient. They can also monitor patients 24/7. This capability has helped us save many lives during the times of the ongoing pandemic.”

The Teladoc telemedicine robots have capabilities to carry out basic clinical examinations (such as checking blood pressure and heart rate) on their own, as instructed by the doctors. As IoT devices, they can be used to control other advanced diagnostic equipment such as CT and MRI scan machines. Applying Artificial Intelligence, the robots can collect and process data from other diagnostic equipment and present it to the doctors to help them make precise clinical decisions. The robots can also enhance patient relations, as they are fitted with cameras and display monitors to enable patient-doctor interaction.

Dr. Gurushankar said the adoption of such telemedicine robots is not going to take away jobs of paramedical staff. Their primary objective is to augment the diagnostic abilities of doctors and improve access, quality, and efficiency of healthcare delivery for patients irrespective of their physical location – whether they are admitted at the hospital or are miles away at their home.

Dr. Gurushankar said that mobile telemedicine robots are getting increasingly popular across the world since the outbreak of COVID-19, as these help hospitals reduce the risk of infections of all types substantially. Meenakshi Mission Hospital is all set to explore ways to use this novel technology to provide expert diagnosis from Madurai to patients in other parts of the country so as to put world-class healthcare within everyone’s reach.

Meenakshi Mission Hospital is spearheading the adoption of AI, robotics, telemedicine, and other technological breakthroughs in healthcare. During the lockdown days of the Covid pandemic, it deployed robots to detect Covid symptoms in people, sanitize the hospital premises, and deliver food and medicines to in-patients, as part of its 6-stage protection against Coronavirus.