The US Department of State and IBM are leading a public–private
partnership to implement a high-technology telemedicine system in
Pakistan. The partnership includes Wateen Telecom, Motorola Inc., Medweb
Inc., USAID, the US Department of Defense Telemedicine and Advanced
Technology Research Center, the Pakistani Government, and Holy Family
Hospital in Rawalpindi and District Headquarters Hospital in Attock.
The team has helped to broaden and strengthen technical capabilities
at a 'hub' or a central coordinating hospital located at the Holy Family
Hospital in the northern city of Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, with the
'spoke' hospital with limited resources in District Attock.
The Pakistan Telemedicine Project is providing expanded medical care:
pre-operative planning and follow-up; cardiac assessment; ophthalmology,
dermatology, radiology, infectious disease, and peri-natal evaluations;
and medical triage for traumas and acute illnesses. Another important
aspect of the project is building capacity for healthcare services via
virtual clinical grand rounds for medical education.