‘Emergency smart pods for India a possibility’

Two doctors from the U.S. visited the city for a feasibility study

It is not easy to access quick medical care during a disaster — such as during the flood the city saw in December 2015. And it is also difficult for people living in remote locations, where healthcare may be several kilometres away. To tackle this need, two doctors from the Baylor College of Medicine in the United States, visited the city recently to see if an emergency smart pod the college had developed could be made and used in the country.

The pod, said Sharmila Anandasabapathy, director, Baylor Global Initiatives, is a mobile expandable shipping container unit that expands into a clinic, equipped to manage patients during disasters. With the country’s large population, deficiency in healthcare services in some parts and access problems, the pod would be useful not just during emergencies, but also for community-based clinical care, she said.

Patient-tracking enabled

The pod is a deployable field hospital, a semi-permanent structure that can remain in one area for years — it is easy to transport and set up and can be used for epidemics, primary care or speciality care, labour, delivery, etc. There is a tablet-based patient tracking system. It was designed in the wake of Ebola outbreak. One pod has already been sent to Liberia.

The idea, said Arun Rajan, assistant vice-president, Baylor Global Initiatives, is to build in India to keep costs down, and to provide solutions and training from hubs within the country. The college is exploring partnerships with institutions/universities as well as with the government and non-governmental organisations in Chennai.