Utilisation Patterns and Implementation Outcomes of Telemedicine Services among Beneficiaries in Hard-to-reach Areas of Rajasthan: An Implementation Research Study

Background Hard-to-reach areas of Rajasthan often experience poor healthcare access and delayed treatment resulting in health risks. A telemedicine intervention was implemented in randomly selected villages of Rajasthan to provide remote medical consultations real-time screening through digital diagnostic tools. Methods This analysis used intervention data from 4,401 beneficiaries of telemedicine services across five hard-to-reach areas of Rajasthan. Demographic details, clinical symptoms, physiological measurements, and treatment-seeking outcomes were recorded on teleconsultation platform. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted using MS-EXCEL & SPSS version 29. The Kruskal-Wallis test examined physiological differences across treatment groups, Spearman’s rank correlation assessed associations between age and vitals, and Chi-square test evaluated village-wise variations in treatment-seeking behaviour. Results Of the total 4,401 beneficiaries, across all ages and gender showed high acceptance (98.6%) with only 1.4% referral rate. Highest enrolment from Siner (1097 patients) and the lowest from Siner Thanmata Hinglaj (720 patients). Blood pressure varied significantly across treatment-seeking groups (systolic: χ²(2) = 13.64, p = 0.001; diastolic: χ²(2) = 12.20, p = 0.002). Age correlated positively with systolic (rₛ=0.64, p < 0.001) and diastolic BP (rₛ=0.60, p < 0.001) but negatively with SpO₂ (rₛ=−0.17, p < 0.001) and heart rate (rₛ=−0.32, p < 0.001). ECG tests were performed for participants with cardiac symptoms. Conclusion Telemedicine effectively provided access to medical services across gender and age groups in hard-to-reach areas. These findings highlight the value of telemedicine platforms for both service delivery and real-time risk profiling in hard-to-reach areas.