Revised guidelines for the telemedicine industry

1. TELEMEDICINE IN
INDIA
July 02, 2020
Chandan Bhar – IP Advisor
Ex. DGM – Intellectual Property
Lupin Research Park
Pune
In Association With

2. Legal
Basis
• In India, till now there was no legislation
or guidelines on the practice of telemedicine,
through video, phone,. Internet based platforms
• The Indian Government
published Telemedicine Practice
Guidelines (“Telemedicine Guidelines”) on March
25, 2020
• It is now perfectly legal (Section 27 of the MCI
Act 1956) to provide teleconsultation by
registered medical practitioners (M.B.B.S and
above) in line with the requirements of
the Telemedicine Guidelines
• Drugs and Cosmetic Rules 1945 (valid legal
compliance for prescriptions)
• Information Technology Act 2000 – Standards
in IT practices - security, privacy and
confidentiality of patient data and potential misuse
and even abuse of electronic records
• State specific laws governing the practice of
‘medicine’ in the absence of any central or
overarching legislations

3. Comprehensive
medical
databases
• Telemedicine consultation centres
(“TCC”) - where the patient is present
• Telemedicine specialty centres (“TSC”) -
where the specialist is present)
• TCC requirements - equipment for
scanning / converting, transformation and
communicating the patient's medical
information
• TSC requirements – Audio-Visuals
• Each healthcare provider TCC should
have a unique provider identifier which
will flow to all its programs
and telemedicine consultation centres
• Each patient to be identified by a unique
and universal patient identifier
• Hardware and software (including detailed
configuration and specifications) which is
recommended for the setting up of the
TCC and TSCs

4. TELEMEDICINE SYSTEM
2008
2020

5. Captive and incentivized multi-tier
structures for business
• Liability issues for the operating entity vis-à-vis the
employees
• Local regulations applicable to operating diagnostic
centres, TSC and TCC, etc. and involves a substantial
investment in equipment and networking infrastructure
Captive model (in
which the TSC and
the TCC are owned
and controlled by the
operating entity)
• For entities not otherwise engaged or established in the
medical services sector
• Aimed at minimizing the liability exposure on the
operating entity since most of the inter-tier work force is
outsourced based on an incentive structure
The incentivized
model (a franchise
based outsourced
model)

7. Yolo Health (Founded 2015) - Mumbai
• YOLO Health builds Health ATMs which
• Can perform health check-ups, connect to a doctor and maintain patient records
• Caters to multiple diagnostic tests - BMI & Body Composition, Pulse rate, Oxygen
Saturation, Blood Pressure, Lipid Profile, Blood Glucose, Hemoglobin
• Has a 12 Lead ECG, IR Thermometer, Derma scope, Digital Stethoscope, HD Video
Conferencing, finger print authentication, printer & scanner and a capacity to instantly
deliver health reports
• Current Investors: Chandigarh Angel Network, Fund Tonic, GrayCell
Ventures; total disclosed funding: $235,000
• Outreach: Currently 44 ATMs deployed across Karnataka, Chhattisgarh,
Kolkata and Mumbai; struck a deal with a consortium of NGOs which have
potential to deploy 2,000 units in 3 yrs
• ATM Priced 2–5 Lakhs, works on 2G/3G bandwidth (1
mbps), provides Online/offline consulting, integrated with mobile and other
diagnostic devices
• Two revenue models – Selling ATM units and Pay-per-use ATM

8. AMRITA
TELEMEDICINE
(FD. 2002)
Amrita collaborates with over 60
hospitals

9. Which prescription drugs can be
delivered
Antibiotics such as
Penicillin, Amoxicillin,
or Azithromycin
Allergy medicine like
Claritin (Loratidine)
or Flonase
(Fluticasone)
Asthma medications,
such as Albuterol
(Salbutamol) Inhalers
or albuterol
nebulizing solution

10. What services can be provided by
telemedicine
• Allergies
• Arthritic Pain
• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Colds and Flu
• Diarrhea
• Infections
• Insect Bites
• Pharyngitis
• Conjunctivitis
• Rashes
• Respiratory Infections
• Sinusitis
• Skin Inflammations
• Cellulitis
• Sore Throats
• Sprains & Strains
• Bladder Infections
• UTIs
• Sports Injuries
• Vomiting

11. Possible
limitations
Instrumental interruptions
Awareness and turnaround of patients
Maintaining privacy of patient records
Ethical aspects
Language barriers in remote places
Cross-border practice issues