In India, despite several advancements made in the medical field, the benefits are still available to the privileged few residing mainly in the Urban areas. It is a known that 75% of the qualified doctors practice in Urban Centres, whereas the vast majority of India's population live in the rural areas. Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information Technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance. It helps eliminate distance barriers and can improve access to medical services, that would often not be available in distant rural communities. These technologies permit communications between patient and medical staff with both convenience and fidelity as well as the transmission of medical, imaging and health information data from one site to another. Telemedicine can be extremely beneficial for people living in isolated communities and remote regions. Patients who live in such areas can be seen by a doctor or specialist, who can provide an accurate and complete examination, while the patient may not have to travel. Telemedicine technology critically bridge the distance by all health care professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid health 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. Meenakshi Mission Hospital & Research centre in Madurai extents (Tableware) its helping hands by establishing Meenakshi Tele Care Centre in rural remote areas. So far Meenakshi Mission Hospital has established 7 centres in and around Southern Tamil Nadu (Varappur – Sivaganga, Thonugal – Virudhunagar, Rameshwaram – Ramnad, Tuticorin, KK Patty – Theni, Perumalmalai – Kodaikanal, Madurai) and also Tele consultation services for Davanekare District - Karnataka. Meenakshi Mission Hospital has plans to start 500 more Telemedicine centres throughout Tamil Nadu in the coming years. Telemedicine services provided for more than 1,50,000 patients.
