Cisco and Government of Karnataka in PPP to Pilot Remote Healthcare in Chitradurga District to Bring Inclusive Growth

Cisco Uses Its Healthcare Solution to Connect a Remote Primary Healthcare Center and a Remote Community Healthcare Center to the District Hospital

CHITRADURGA, INDIA -Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced the launch of its Cisco® healthcare solution pilot program to enable remote healthcare for one primary healthcare center and one community healthcare center from the district hospital in Chitradurga District.

With this project, Cisco advances its Inclusive Growth vision of using technology to bridge the urban-rural gap. Last year, Cisco launched the initiative so that rural communities can get access to essential urban services like healthcare, education, a marketplace and access to public services through technology and bring them into the mainstream economy. Using the network as a platform, these services can bring about transformational change and greatly reduce the urban-rural divide.

Cisco introduced its healthcare solution in its corporate social responsibility project -- Samudaya -- to enable access to remote healthcare to flood-affected people of Raichur on a proof-of-concept basis. Leveraging Cisco technology and medical services provided by RxDx's multi-specialty hospital in Bangalore, remote consultation for over 1700 patients has been rendered.

In the Chitradurga pilot, the healthcare solution will link Chitradurga District Hospital to one community healthcare centre at Bharamasagara in Chitradurga Taluk and one primary healthcare centre (PHC) at Mathode in Hosadurga Taluk. Patients visiting these two centers will have their vitals checked by the paramedic/nurse at the centre while the doctor at the district hospital provides consultation and diagnosis in real time. Cisco's healthcare solution creates an environment where patients and doctors can meet each other virtually through video without having to commute long distances.

Nearly 70% of India's population lives in rural areas, but 80% of the total available doctors are in urban areas and patients often have to travel long distances at great cost to get quality healthcare. This gap, coupled with the shortage of local doctors, poses a huge challenge for delivery of rural healthcare system. Cisco's solution alleviates these issues for the rural population

The proactive initiatives of the government of Karnataka to use Cisco technologies to provide remote healthcare is a positive step to leapfrog these challenges and bring about inclusive growth.

Executive quotes

Shri Janardhana Swamy, MP, Chitradurga District
"A significant number of population lives in the rural areas in Karnataka, which is the case with the entire nation too. The rural population is unable to access quality healthcare and specialist consultants due to lack of availability and spend precious time traveling to urban centres for their treatment. In this regard Cisco Inclusive Growth solutions are a step in the right direction. I want to congratulate Cisco on its mission to provide access to healthcare using its technology. Cisco's solution will enable better access to medical treatment for the population of Chitradurga."

Shri Vipul Bhansal, District Commissioner, Chitradurga District
"We are confident that we will be able to provide affordable healthcare to a larger population using technology. People in the rural areas need easy access to specialists, which is something that can be facilitated with Cisco solutions."

Aravind Sitaraman, President, Inclusive Growth, Cisco 
"Healthcare in India is a major concern for those who cannot afford or access it. While this amenity is available easily to urban population at very affordable rates, it is not ubiquitous in rural areas. Governments across all states of India recognize this gap. While some are in the process to adopt new solution towards making an impactful change, others are starting to do so. We are happy to collaborate with visionary governments like Karnataka in implementing the new wave of growth and enablement. This project marks significant progress towards the Inclusive Growth goal of using technology as the enabler to bridge urban-rural gap and Cisco's vision of changing the way people work, live, play and learn."

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Press Contact 
Bipasha Chakrabarti 
Cisco Systems, Inc. 
+91 80 4426 2353 
bipchakr@cisco.com