Informatics in clinical practice in developing countries: still early days

Tamil Nadu will soon become the first state in India to provide telemedicin e in the public setter when the local hospital in Thiruvallur is connected to the Chennai Medical College (about 40 km away) through an integrated ser vices digital network (ISDN) line and linked terminals. Tamil Nadu cannot y et connect every district and taluk hospital to the nearest medical college because the ISDN facility is not available in many plates outside Chennai. This reflects misplaced priorities in a country which has developed techno logies for launching missiles and satellites and for producing nuclear bomb s; provides cellular telephones, colour televisions, and luxury cars for th e rich; and sends thousands of computer professionals to the United States every year. The story is the same everywhere in the developing world.