Challenges in the implementation of telemedicine

Background: There is a constant search across the globe for optimal healthcare solutions with affordability, accessibility, availability, and quality of healthcare services being the burning issue for mankind. The pandemic has further necessitated the need of use of the Telemedicine platform to address healthcare issues which are also non Covid related. Though Telemedicine has been in use for over two decades in India, there have been various challenges and adoption issues which have not yet made the technology an effective solution to address the current healthcare issues. There has been phenomenal growth in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) over the last decade and its utilization in the healthcare field. Methods: Internet research on the various adoption strategies by healthcare providers coupled with our own experience for using this technology along with guidelines provided by the information and communication technology providers. The Telemedicine Guidelines of 2020 released by the Ministry of Health and Family welfare, India, provides a framework for the implementation of healthcare delivery through this technology. Results: This paper mentions our telemedicine experience in governmental and private institutes and highlights the implementation challenges of this technology and some solutions that made a difference in the execution. However, we discuss to a larger extent the possible challenges and barriers in the implementation of this technology in India. Conclusion: Despite successful work in the field of telemedicine, it is yet to become an integral part of healthcare system because challenges related to adaptability of healthcare users and lack of proper training to fast growing technologies. The future is going to compel the usage of this kind of technology and it is essential for setting up infrastructure and having trained personnel to man these departments to encash the full potential of the telemedicine technology.