President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam has called for augmenting the primary health centres in a big way and empowering the secondary healthcare system. Both should be integrated into the tertiary care centres. Delivering the third convocation address at the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad on Tuesday, Dr Kalam stressed for a greater interface between medical science and technology for strengthening healthcare systems and eradicating major diseases in the next two decades. He said if an interface between medical science, electronics, material sciences and engineering was made, cost-effective medical technology could be brought about.

He said the Chief Minister had discussed with him about establishing an institute for conducting further work in this area.

The President highlighted the need for quality and affordable healthcare at two other functions at CARE Hospital and CCMB.

Dr Kalam said an action plan should be drawn up with focus on areas like prevention, diagnostics and treatment. While prevention should include sanitation, availability of safe drinking water, basic education and nutritional awareness, diagnostics should include availability of x-ray, ultrasound and ECG at every primary health centre and a CT scan and Colour Doppler at every district hospital. Both should be linked to tertiary care hospitals by telemedicine. The tertiary hospital should focus on interventional technologies such as angioplasty, brachytherapy, prosthetics and so on, he said.

Dr Kalam also inaugurated the telemedicine link between NIMS and the Nizamabad District Hospital, the latest digital subtraction angiography and NIMS Women's Hostel.

Inaugurating the telemedicine facility, Dr Kalam said Hyderabad had made big strides in the field of telemedicine by Hospitals like Apollo, CARE and now NIMS. He said he was impressed by the deployment of mobile clinics at Almora in the hill state of Uttaranchal to carry healthcare to people's doorsteps.

NIMS Director Kakarla Subba Rao said the 840-bed Institute, which was taken over by the government in 1976, had an annual budget of Rs 75 crore and cadre strength of 2,000.