A telehealth service from the UK has made online consultations available to residents in the remote village of Gerkhutar in Nepal.

Medsystem and Medrecord Online from Meddserve offer the village's residents in-depth consultations with specialists based a two-day journey away.

The technology was piloted in the village, using a basic computer with dial-up Internet connection. Local residents spoke to a nominated representative, giving details of their symptoms and marking areas of pain on a 3-D body image. The data were uploaded and referred to a remote consultant, who advised treatment.

The system parallels a full medical consultation, and is available to anyone with Internet access. It includes an integrated healthcare management system to improve the running of healthcare facilities.

"Gerkhutar is not easily accessible by car, so it was the perfect location to trial telehealth services," said Dr James Britton, who developed the service. "We have been working on this technology for 10 years, and we believe it is the most advanced system in the world. It ensures that everyone, no matter where they live, has access to healthcare services."

Mr Krishna Pandey from the Nepal High Commission for Information Technology, who carried out the pilot, said: "The first villager who registered for the service said it was like a senior surgeon was in front of them having a consultation, which was excellent feedback."

The Nepal Government intends to roll out the system across the country. With low set-up and running costs, this technology can be integrated into hospitals worldwide.

Based in Hull, Meddserve facilitates online medical records. The Medsystem service runs the functions of a hospital, such as test results, PACS and referrals, online. Medrecord Online is a system that enables individuals to access and control their own health records.