| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2020 | Volume
: 68
| Issue : 2 | Page : 358--363 |
A Collaborative Tele-Neurology Outpatient Consulation Service in Karnataka: Seven Years of Experience From a Tele-Medicine Center
Guru S Gowda1, Narayana Manjunatha1, Karishma Kulkarni1, Virupakshappa Irappa Bagewadi1, R PS Shyam1, Vinay Basavaraju1, Manjunatha B Ramesh1, Shashidhara Harihara Nagabhushana1, Channaveerachari Naveen Kumar1, Girish Baburao Kulkarni2, Suresh Bada Math1
1 Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
2 Department of Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Narayana Manjunatha
Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore - 560 029, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0028-3886.280644
Background: Neurology services in rural and semi-urban part of India are very limited, due to poor infrastructure, resources, and manpower. Tele-neurology consultations at a non-urban setup can be considered as an alternative and innovative approach and have been quite successful in developed countries. Therefore, an initiative to bridge this health gap through Tele-Medicine has been taken by the Government of India.
Aim: To study the sociodemographic and clinical profiles of patients who have received collaborative Tele-Neurology consultations from the Tele-Medicine Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru.
Methodology: We reviewed case files of such patients between December 2010 and March 2017. A total 189 collaborative tele-neurology outpatient consultations were provided through the Tele-Medicine Centre, located at a tertiary hospital-based research centre in southern India.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 39.6 (±19) years and 65.6% were aged between 19 to 60 years; 50.8% were male. The most common diagnosis was a seizure disorder in 17.5%, followed by cerebrovascular accident/stroke in 14.8%. Interestingly, 87.3% were found to benefit from tele-neurology consultations using interventions such as a change of medications in 30.1%, referral to a specialist for review in 15.8%, and further evaluation of illness and inpatient care for 7.93%.
Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the successful implementation of outpatient-based collaborative tele neurology consultation in Karnataka.
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