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DRONE TECHNOLOGY'S VIABILITYIN INDIA'S DIAGNOSTIC SECTOR
DIAGNOSTICS
Drone technology's viabilityin India's diagnostic sector
Dheeraj Jain,Founder,Redcliffe Labs talks about the drone technology in diagnostics and highlights that in order to eliminate challenges like poor accessibility to locations,drones have an important and rising role
The Indian healthcare sector has a unique landscape. On the one hand, growing digitisation and technological advancements are reshaping the urban healthcare landscape. On the other hand, significant chunk of the rural population lives in inaccessible places with no access to even basic healthcare. According to statistics, 70 per cent of India's population lives in rural areas, where only 3 per cent of the country's doctors reside. These distressing statistics highlight the urgent need to address the country's rural population's healthcare requirements.
On this front, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are helping to improve access to quality healthcare by ensuring the safe and timely transportation of medical items and test samples in a timely and cost-effective manner. Drones are successful in overcoming connectivity issues as they can easily reach remote places such as mountains, valleys, and forests and carry life-saving drugs, emergency supplies, medications, and so on. Areas that were previously cut off by road and unreachable by large helicopters and aeroplanes can now be accessible, enhancing the country's transportation network and strengthening the country's healthcare scenario.
Diagnostics is one of the most common uses for drones
Not every hospital or clinic has the facility for diagnostic tests. Therefore, couriers are frequently dispatched between healthcare system structures and campuses.
Moreover, as some diagnostic procedures are time and temperature sensitive, a sample from a patient must be submitted to the lab and the test must be completed within a certain timeframe, which might be as little as 2 hours. To eliminate challenges like poor accessibility to locations, drones have an important and rising role.
Also, drones can carry a payload of up to 25 kgs in temperature-controlled boxes without compromising safety and quality. Due to the long delivery period, it becomes difficult to ensure the safety and sterility of the samples. So, sample collection by drone could provide an effective solution to such problems.
Drone technology is one of the ways that Redcliffe Labs has adopted in its journey of providing affordable diagnostic services to people across the Indian subcontinent. With its recent initiatives like opening the commercial drone corridor in Uttarakhand (Uttarkashi to Dehradun), Redcliffe Labs is able to gather samples from local clinics that have previously struggled to obtain diagnostic samples.
This process will help maximise sample processing capabilities, resulting in a more efficient lab operation while also aiding patients who require faster results.
Scaling up the use of drone technology in Uttarakhand, Redcliffe Labs will also target Mandi to Shimla and explorethe North Eastern areas.
Drones can carry a payload of up to 25 kgs in temperaturecontrolled boxes without compromising safety and quality. Due to the long delivery period,it becomes difficult to ensure the safety and sterility of the samples.So,sample collection by drone could provide an effective solution to such problems
Rapid growth of e-diagnostic industry...
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Challenges in implementation
The diagnostics sector in India is fiercely competitive, with unorganised firms accounting for roughly 84 per cent of the market. Making the code of conduct for e-diagnostic mandatory will result in the elimination of many small players. These modifications, however, necessitate not only considerable capital expenditures but also raise maintenance costs. This is especially important for smaller players that are short on cash.
Medical equipment and analysers are continually improving in terms of technology. Diagnostics facilities are continually enhancing their technologies to keep ahead of the competition. Extra costs to implement the code of conduct will result in a delay in research and development.
The wayforward
The e-diagnostic sector's code of conduct holds diagnostic organisations to the highest standards. The guidelines established for the corporations will be crucial in regulating diagnostic company activities and allowing enterprises and infrastructure to be streamlined. This will ensure that the health of the customers is not compromised.
Given our many years of experience, brand trust and recall, global quality standards and accreditations, value-added offerings, wide test menus, extensive patient touchpoints to service patients locally, and ability to grow in new markets sustainably, Genes2Me is optimistic about implementing the code of conduct in our e-diagnostic chains in India.
