Ericsson has just announced that it will soon provide mobile health services across India, as a result of the collaboration with ATNF (the Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation), which is a member of Apollo Hospitals Group.

Grouped under the term of telemedicine, the future mobile health services will allow millions of Indians from the rural areas of the country to have access to professional healthcare. Leveraging on Ericsson's HSPA technology, as well as on the rapidly increasing rate of mobile phone usage in India, telemedicine is set to bring important health information and the latest health-related news to a large number of patients who live in remote areas.

In India, over 1 million patients die each year as a result of not having access to a proper healthcare, hence the initiative of Ericsson and Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation is more than welcomed. Thanks to Ericsson, ATNF will be able to give instant medical advice to people, without the need to travel in areas that are not easily accessible.

"Mobility has proven to be a major catalyst for social and economic empowerment, and a key ingredient in helping to bridge the digital divide", declared Mats Granryd, President of Ericsson India. "Through our ongoing partnership with Apollo, we are putting an ecosystem in place to support telemedicine applications once the 3G network is deployed."

The Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group, Mr. Prathap C. Reddy, added: "With the availability of wireless technology, mobile health will be integrated into the healthcare delivery system. The new mantra could well be "Healthcare for anyone, anywhere, anytime". In our silver jubilee year, Apollo Hospitals dedicates itself, to make mobile health a reality for everyone in India."

The new agreement between Ericsson and ATNF is part of the Swedish company's implication in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, a set of initiatives that have as final purpose reducing the global poverty and hunger by the end of 2015, as well as improving people's health and education.