Project Silverline and Healthcare Revolution

I have always had a flair for wrist watches but none of them are costly though. The oldest watch that I have is my grandfather’s which is about 60 years and works even today. The latest addition to my inventory is a 20 $ pocket watch that I purchased in China Town, Sydney.

Recently when I was cleaning my wardrobe I happened to see another Casio 10 $ watch that I had purchased in Saudi Arabia but had seldom used. Somehow I was reminded of Nagraj the facilities management team member at work when I saw this watch. I gave that watch to him the same day. The smile on his face made reminded me of the joy we had as children when someone gave a gift which was probably not so affordable for the middle class. I was happy that something which was just lying unused in my wardrobe was of some use to someone.

These days we see similar initiatives in the form of Cloth Banks, Medicine banks, etc, where we could deposit clothes or medicines and the same will be distributed among the needy.

Whenever I visit a mall, I usually see a box with a label “E-Waste”. I am not sure how many of it is actually used or if people actually dump their old cell phone in it. We may either end up exchanging it for a latest phone or give it to children to be used as a toy, or may be give it to our parents. My last 2 phones have at least ended up as my mother’s new phones.

I was pleasantly surprised today to see that Singtel offers a program called “Project Silverline” (http://info.singtel.com/personal/silverline). In this program customers can trade their old iphones for extra talk time. These phones are given to seniors with a host of iapps installed in the phone. These iapps will help seniors to take better control of their health apart from staying connected with family and friends.

Disease Management, Preventive Care, is the new buzz words in healthcare industry. Healthcare providers can take a cue from the Singtel experience and install applications that will aid in providing better care. The following are some examples of the mobile solutions that may drive healthcare in future,

• A SMS based alert system reminding patients about pending tests, office visits

•  A VOIP system which enables patients to report readings from home monitoring devices like glucometers,digital BP monitors,

• An automatic alert system about medications, dosage, time of the day

• Wellness check questionnaire

• Emergency service icons by clicking which automatic alerts are sent to all those who are concerned like provider, ambulance, spouse, etc

• Patient Education

Harnessing technology will continue to be the solution to address most problems. The Kisan Call Centre, Bhoomi project, nemmadi kendras are some of the technology solutions that have revolutionized the way we access information and use it. Telemedicine managed by ISRO, DRDO and Narayana Hrudayalaya is another example that has saved lives.

To sum it all, affordable mobile technology, the consumer’s mindset to give, and Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of cell phone companies can actually make a huge impact in the lives of people. The impact becomes even more pertinent if it can help save lives.