KARACHI, Oct 26: Speakers at a Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation symposium on Saturday underlined the need for understanding the potential of telemedicine in Pakistan.

The director of the experimental pathology department at the University of Alberta, Prof Kim Solez, explained that telemedicine was the use of telecommunications to provide medical information and services.

“It may be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone or as sophisticated as using satellite technology to broadcast a consultation between providers at facilities in two countries using videoconferencing equipment. The first is used daily by most health professionals and the latter is used by the military and some large medical centres.

Dr Solez was associate professor of pathology and medicine at the John Hopkins University of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1983 to 1987. He was professor and chairman of experimental pathology at the University of Alberta Edmonton in Canada from 1987 to 1992.

Speaking at the new SIUT premises Dewan Farooq Medical Complex, he said that cyber nephrology was a comparatively new area of study in the ever-growing field of telemedicine. “But it seems to have made great strides since it was introduced in 1996, becoming one of the most reliable sources of mutual learning for both health-care providers and patients all over the world.”

He added that the transformation of data in 67 different areas of kidney medicine into electronic form had largely benefited nephrologists and kidney professionals from around the world.

Speaking about the impediments that professionals had to face in discharging their duties, the professor said that there were still several barriers to the practice of telemedicine.

“Many states and countries will not allow out-of-state physicians to practise unless licensed in their state. Many potential telemedicine projects have been hampered by the lack of appropriate telecommunications technology. Regular telephone lines do not supply adequate bandwidth for most telemedical technology. Many rural areas do not have cable wiring or other kinds of high telecommunications access required for more sophisticated uses, so those who could benefit most from telemedicine may not have access to it.”

Earlier, the director of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi, welcomed the guest speaker and introduced him to the audience. He said: “We are fortunate to have Dr Solez with us even for a day as with his experience he always has a lot on his hands. He is a pioneer in the field of telemedicine and cyber nephrology and conducts workshops all over the world.”

Judith A. Tarsellie also spoke on the occasion. She has worked in critical care, nephrology, occupational health and currently paediatrics. She has strong interest in computers and the Internet and has worked on related cyber nephrology projects.

The presentations were followed by a workshop on telepathology. The workshop was titled “A way to implement and integrate Internet skills”.

A session on kidney in systemic diseases — such as hypertension, acute renal failure, diabetes mellitus, pregnancy — was also held.