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Editorial
. 2018 Feb 1:11:3.
doi: 10.1186/s40545-018-0130-5. eCollection 2018.

Health care for all: effective, community supported, healthcare with innovative use of telemedicine technology

Tariq Kazim Shah  1 , Tasneem Tariq  1 , Roger Phillips  2 , Steve Davison  1 , Adam Hoare  3 , Syed Shahzad Hasan  2 , Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar  2   4
Affiliations
Editorial

Health care for all: effective, community supported, healthcare with innovative use of telemedicine technology

Tariq Kazim Shah et al. J Pharm Policy Pract. .

Abstract

Almost half of the world's total population reside in rural and remote areas and a large number of these people remain deprived of most basic facilities like healthcare and education. It is deemed impossible for government with scarce resources in developing countries to open and run a health facility in every remote community using conventional means. One increasingly popular unconventional mean is the use of existing technology to improve exchange of medical information for the purpose of improving health of underprivileged communities. Telemedicine implies the use of information and communication technology to provide health care remotely from a distance. With the induction of telemedicine, patients who live in rural and remote areas can have increased access to medical services. In many developing countries, use of telemedicine however has been limited mainly to teleconferencing between primary and secondary/tertiary care facilities for diagnosis and management of patients. This system still requires patients from remote communities to travel, often long and arduous journeys to the centre where telecom and medical facilities are available. Health Care 4 All International, a not for profit registered charity is providing primary care to patients by taking telemedicine into their homes in remote communities, thus obviating the need and hardships of travel for patient.

Keywords: Healthcare; Innovation; Primary; Remote rural communities; Technology; Telecommunication; Telemedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Tariq Kazim Shah MBBS. LRCP MMEd FRCS is a Consultant Urological Surgeon in UK and Founder Chairman of the charity ‘Health Care 4 All International’. Tasneem Tariq MBBS. Med (Dip) FRCOG is a consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Vice Chairperson of the charity ‘Health Care 4 All International’. Roger Phillips, PhD Professor of Cancer Pharmacology at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Huddersfield HD1 3DH, Huddersfield United Kingdom. Steve Davison, QDR, B Nurs, RGN, RMN, HV (Cert), NDN (cert). As both a qualified nurse and MBA qualified commercial mediator. Adam Hoare Ph.D., MBA, B.Sc., B.Sc., C.Phys., MIEEE, MIOP, MIET, Executive Director of Sociotechnical Systems at The Bayswater Institute, Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at University of Bradford Faculty of Health Studies. Syed Shahzad Hasan, PhD is a Research Fellow at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Huddersfield HD1 3DH, Huddersfield United Kingdom. Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar, PhD is a Professor in Medicines and Healthcare at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Huddersfield HD1 3DH, Huddersfield United Kingdom.Not Applicable.All authors approved the manuscript.TS and TT have largely funded the charity Health Care 4 All through their own philanthropy. The charity has also received donations from a number of individual donors. Their interest is purely philanthropic and they do not have any financial benefit from it. AH, SD, RP, SS no competing interest declared. ZUDB is the Editor in Chief of Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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