Press Release

MEDNET: A gateway to improved access to healthcare in rural Peru and Brazil

The project, part funded from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no 215479, will enable doctors to constantly monitor patients, assisted by an automated infrastructure which promotes the sharing of knowledge and resources between doctors in remote areas and specialists in urban centres and by providing access to medical applications in a range of fields from gynaecology, paediatrics and cardiology to region-specific diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis.

Currently, many people are in effect disenfranchised from the national health system, marginalised from society due to a combination of geographical and socio-economic factors. Speaking at the launch of the project, Dr Carlos Cabrera, Director of the Regional Health Authority in Junín, Perú, highlighted the fact in his area of jurisdiction there are currently only 38 Specialist Medical Doctors serving a population of 1.2 Million. The development of a telemedicine network can potentially have a dramatic impact on extending the reach of health authorities and delivering access to a quality health care network.

Dr Wayne Menary, Managing Director of Geopac, states “MedNET is a big opportunity not only for Geopac to develop and further its activities in the area of eHealth but also for the thousands of people in the targeted regions who stand to benefit as a result of the successful implementation and deployment of the network.”

Geopac will be part of an international consortium responsible for the development of MedNET that includes Fraunhofer IGD, Thales Alenia Space Espana, MedCom, VicomTech, NTUA, DIRESA Junin, Gobierno Regional de Junin, Santa Casa Hospital, CETA and Hispasat.

Geopac is a UK-based SME specialising in solutions that help “bidge the digital divide” and promote sustainable development. The majority of its activities are carried out in Latin America.