To promote Telemedicine, a hybrid program, themed “Telemedicine – the Untapped Potential” was organized by the Telemedicine Society of India (TSI) – TN Chapter, at The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University in Guindy, Chennai on November 19, 2021. This event was supported by TeleOphthalmology Society of India (TOSI) and Tamil Nadu Ophthalmic Association (TNOA).
The online conference commenced with Dr. K. Selvakumar introducing the event and welcoming everyone. This was followed by brief lectures on History and Definition of Telemedicine by Prof. Dr. K Ganapathy; Modes of Communication, Bandwidth by Dr. S Dheeraj Krishnaa; and Mobile Health by Dr. Sheila John.
Next, Dr. Sunil Shroff walked the audience through Telemedicine Practice and Guidelines from Government of India in detail, to help them easily understand the subject, and a lecture on Producing a “Wow” effect – Using Telemedicine by Prof. Dr. K Ganapathy followed.
The guest of honour for the occasion was Dr. J Radhakrishnan IAS – Health Secretary of Tamil Nadu. The formal welcome address was delivered by Dr. Sunil Shroff, President – TSI TN Chapter and Dr. Sudha Seshayyan – Vice Chancellor, The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University delivered the inaugural address. Dr. J Radhakrishnan IAS spoke in brief about the future of Telemedicine and highlighted its effectiveness during the pandemic. Special addresses by Dr. Mohan Rajan and Padmashri Dr. S Natarajan were followed by vote of thanks by Dr T Senthil.
After a short break, Dr. Ikramullah moderated a Panel Discussion on Specialty Practice in Telemedicine, featuring the following TSI members as speakers:
- Dr. Senthil
- Dr. Sheila John
- Dr. Vidya Ramkumar
- Dr. Lovelena Munawar and
- Dr. Kim R
Dr. Sunil Shroff briefed about the courses in Telemedicine that are going to be offered in the near future. Dr. Masood Ikram chaired a session on How to Set up Telemedicine in your Practice.
Dr. Natarajan presented his key note address on “Teleophthalmology for Blind-Free Tamil Nadu 2025.” A second panel discussion on Promoting Telemedicine in Tamil Nadu was moderated by Dr. Natarajan and the speakers were:
- Dr. Kim R
- Dr. Ganapathy
- Dr. Prabhu Rajagopal and
- Dr. Selva Kumar
The final segment featured participant discussions and the concluding remarks were delivered by Mr. D. Satheesh Kumar.
| Name | Affiliation |
| Dr. K. Selvakumar | Prof and Head Neurosurgery, SRMC and RI (Retd) Past President Telemedicine Society of India |
| Dr. K. Ganapathy | Director Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation Hon Distinguished Professor The TN Dr MGR Medical University |
| Dr. S Dheeraj Krishnaa | Head Telemedicine – Star Health Insurance |
| Dr. Sheila John | Head Teleophthalmology Sankara Nethralaya |
| Dr. Sunil Shroff | President TSI TN Chapter Senior Consultant Urologist & Transplant Surgeon Madras Medical Mission Hospital, Chennai, India |
| Dr. Mohan Rajan | President TNOA |
| Padmashri Dr. S Natarajan | Chief Clinical Services Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital Mumbai Chief Vitreo Retinal Services Dr Agarwal’s Group of Eye Hospitals Visiting Emeritus Professor of Ophthalmology, The TN MGR Medical University President Teleophthalmology Society of India |
| Dr. T. Senthil | Treasurer TSI TN Chapter |
| Dr. Ikramullah | Vice President TSI TN Chapter |
| Dr. Masood Ikram | MD – Mellon AI |
