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Can The Projected World Center of Chronic Disease Be Converted to 639
The Worlds Control Centre of Chronic Disease?

of diabetes mellitus across various SES groups (D. scope that the newer technologies being developed
Prabhakaran, unpublished data, 2014). have to offer if appropriately leveraged.

However, in order to slow down the progression of While it is easy to get carried away by the potential
this epidemic, it is important to detect and manage that technology has to offer, it is imperative that what-
Cardiometabolic disease (CMD) at the earliest India ever technology we propose to use is customised in
today possesses as never before, a sophisticated ar- a manner that ensures its efficient use in the Indian
senal of interventions, technologies and knowledge context. Furthermore, the current policies that are in
required for providing health care to its people. Tech- place are not very conducive to the rapid deployment
nologies presently available can play a major role of innovative technologies to enhance the health and
in facilitating such interventions at a very low cost wellbeing of patients. It thus becomes essential that
especially in the area of Cardiometabolic diseases a mechanism is developed to incorporate expertise
(CMD). Technology has proven to be a major boon in available in the areas of information technology, ba-
the provision of healthcare in different parts of the sic sciences, engineering, CMD and public health to
world. Pilot studies done in many developing coun- develop possible technology platforms to address
tries have shown the benefits of leveraging technol- issues related to CMD in the Indian population and
ogy to address health care needs on a large scale at provide a cost effective way in which quality health
reasonable costs. Some of these technologies have care can be provided at the grass root levels. The
played an important role in surveillance, prevention, key deliverables of this group of esteemed experts
diagnosis and treatment thereby reducing the CMD would be to:
burden to a certain extent over the last few years.
Identify the technologies available and come up with
Since the burden of CMD in India is large, technol- the specifications for a suitable information technol-
ogy can be leveraged in multiple ways to overcome ogy platform that would facilitate remote diagnosis
this burden. This includes as a platform between the and treatment of CMD based on scientifically sound
physician and the patient, between physicians in the clinical protocols.
same speciality, physicians from varying specialities Develop health delivery systems that candove-tail
and among patients themselves. Technology is also a into existing health systems at different levels to ad-
highly effective tool for collating and analysing data dress the health care needs related to CMD all over
thereby determining the best treatment management the country.
plan possible. There is significant evidence to show
that the optimal combination of health care and tech- Provide an active platform for networking between
nology can play a key and diverse role in healthcare the government, private health care providers and the
delivery, reducing costs and increasing quality of community on how information technology can be
care being provided. effectively used with respect to CMD in the health
sector.
Technology can be broadly classified into Advocate for policy reforms at the national and state
four areas: levels as and where required with a focus on facil-
Medical devices itating the prevention, care and treatment of CMD
through the use of newer technologies.
Big Data/ Artificial Intelligence
The Organising Committee of this Global Cardio Dia-
Information Technology betes Conclave 2017 has done a wonderful job of get-
Health Management Information systems ting together experts in various aspects of CMD from
all over the globe. The contributions of this conclave
Some of the technologies that have made an impact can be significantly enhanced if detailed and serious
in the delivery of CMD care include advances in im- thought is given to the establishment of a group of
aging and mobile phone technology, surgical tech- experts as described above. Formation of this group
niques, electronic health records, Nano medicine, along with timely follow up of the decisions they take
telemedicine, decision support systems, availability will sound the death knell to CMD in India. It is only
of newer bio-friendly devices, sophisticated software through the implementation of such innovative and
that is capable of analysing millions of clinical data out of the box approaches that the projected world
points per second and providing diagnostic and ther- centre of Chronic Disease will be converted to the
apeutic guidance. While going into the details of the Worlds Control Centre of Chronic Diseases.
technologies available is beyond the scope of this
article, the idea is to give an overview of the huge

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