Abstract
The TeleDoc project of Jivan Institute has combined mobile commerce and the ancient concepts of Ayurveda for treatment of rural residents of India for whom health services are still available only in dreams. Using GPRS network and J2ME applications on Nokia 6800 mobile phones, TeleDoc field workers are reaching the remotest villages of India with the promise of possible Ayurvedic treatments for subsequent illnesses. With cash-positive results in the first year of operations, TeleDoc wants to expand in a big-bang way by covering 10,000 villages in 2006. They also want to improve the service quality by using real-time video streaming. But many members of the TeleDoc technical team are skeptical whether the existing GPRS-based solution will serve the purpose or not. There are different priorities in the team (e.g., cost-effectiveness, quality of service, availability, immediacy, cost-ofchange, etc.). The IT consultant has many options, but getting the priorities sorted out is the daunting task at hand.
TopThe Structure
The first visible strategic as well as operational layer of management structure of Jivan is the Board of Directors. Among them, R.P. Chauhan, a post-graduate engineer with more than 20 years of experience in quality systems in India and the U.S., is the founding president. The director of educational services is Steven Rudolf, an American educator. The director for Jivan Ayurveda is Dr. P. Chauhan, a degree holder in Ayurvedas from the University of Delhi.