A cross-sectional study on utilization and barriers of eSanjeevani telemedicine services in rural areas of South India: Curing at a distance

Background: Telemedicine services are essential in a country like India, where the doctor-to-patient ratio and hospital-topopulation ratio are lower than the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended ratio. To prevent the long waiting time for doctor appointments, diagnosis, and treatment plans in person, an alternative system such as eSanjeevani telemedicine is necessary to tackle medical emergencies in a populated country like India. Objectives: To assess the utilization and barriers affecting the utilization of eSanjeevani services among residents of rural areas in Karnataka. Materials and Methods: A Cross sectional community study was conducted in the rural areas of south India, using a pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule. Multistage cluster sampling method was used to select 400 households. The collected data has been expressed in terms of frequencies and percentages. Results: The study identified that most of the study participants were from lower middle class as per the modified Kuppuswamy Scale. Only 34.8% were aware of the eSanjeevani services and among them 22% utilized eSanjeevani services in which General medicine services (86.3%) were used the most. Major barriers for utilization included network issues (29%) followed by no room for queries/questions (20%). Conclusion: Telemedicine has the potential to enhance the availability and accessibility of healthcare to everyone. At the moment, lack of awareness, low network connectivity, and inherent technological limits pose major challenges for accessing telemedicine. Utilization of telemedicine can be increased by making people aware about the advantages of using it through strong Information, Education and Communication and media publicity