In this report, ACCESS Health International undertook a comparative analysis of three models used in telehealth organizations currently operational in India: CARE Rural Health Mission, World Health Partners, and E-Health Point. The aim is to facilitate a discussion with policy makers on how the government can benefit from innovations used in these models and what it can do to bring good primary care practices to scale.

Telehealth has evolved as an interesting solution to the challenges facing the booming Indian healthcare sector, particularly in the area of rural primary healthcare delivery. Inadequate infrastructure and qualified medical practitioners are considered the main reasons for the poor state of rural healthcare. Telehealth services provide distance support to healthcare workers at scale. The public healthcare system can benefit from telehealth innovations that are developed in the private sector. Integration between the two healthcare systems can best address the challenges in rural primary care.

During the study, ACCESS Health identified key success factors for telehealth in India, as well as challenges and opportunities in this field. Based on these findings, ACCESS uncovered the main obstacles to large scale adoption of telehealth solutions in India and came up with recommendations to quicken the adoption of telemedicine in India.