Tata Elxsi has collaborated with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and OSF HealthCare to deploy rural digital health kiosks aimed at improving healthcare access in underserved regions of the US.
This initiative combines technology and academic research from Gies College of Business and Carle Illinois College of Medicine, using OSF HealthCare data in real-time and funding from Jump ARCHES.
Tata Elxsi noted that rural communities encounter significant barriers to healthcare, including long distances to healthcare providers, limited awareness of technology, inadequate payer coverage, poor connectivity of network, and low population density.
An OSF-based analysis by Gies College of Business found that expanding preventive and primary care access in these areas reduces avoidable emergency care visits.
Tata Elxsi’s initiative will focus on behavioural and chronic diseases, targeting four main challenges: geographical and access barriers, hospital re-admission and post-acute care health monitoring, management of chronic diseases, and healthcare education and preventive measures.
Tata Elxsi’s TEngage platform forms the backbone of the digital health kiosks.
The kiosks operate on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure and feature Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) for hospital information system (HIS) integration, vital sign collection, secure data workflows, and telehealth services.
Discussions are underway to integrate IoT-based remote monitoring for more proactive and continuous care.
Tata Elxsi will begin the deployment in Illinois, expanding to several counties over three years. The phased approach will enable the kiosks to adapt based on usage patterns and community feedback.
Advanced features will include health monitoring, telehealth integration, predictive healthcare insights, AI analytics for epidemic tracking, electronic health record (EHR) connectivity, cloud-based device management, improved telecom infrastructure, and automated workflow.
Tata Elxsi senior vice-president and healthcare business head Sreevatsa Sahasranaman said: “This partnership demonstrates our commitment to driving healthcare innovation and showcases how technology can make quality care accessible to all.
“By combining the University of Illinois’ research insights with our expertise, we are delivering hyper-customised care and impactful solutions that touch rural communities and elevate healthcare delivery to new milestones.”
