Access to medical care is a moral human right and it becomes an obligation to provide health services to all people even in remote and rural areas where services might be unavailable.

As per WHO “The delivery of health care services, where distance is a critical factor, by all health care 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 health care providers, all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals and their communities”

History of telemedicine in India The activities related to telemedicine started in 1999 in India, though the government recognized the potential of telemedicine in the year 2000. The Indian Space Research Organization deployed the first nation-wide SATCOM-based telemedicine network in 2001. The below figure shows the basic infrastructure.

Scope of Telemedicine in India In India, 68% of the population resides in a rural area where the health care services are minimal and telemedicine can close the gap by overcoming distance barriers through joint efforts of government and private healthcare institutions.