In the year 1999, telemedicine activities were initiated in the form of testing the concept and the technology. The first research grant was availed of in the year 2001, which helped in creating an infrastructure for telemedicine. Regular tele-healthcare and tele-educational services were introduced for the postgraduate students of medical colleges of Orissa. These services have now been extended to educate the doctors of other medical colleges and community centers in other states.

Besides, the Institute is associated with organizational activities and in policy initiatives of the government at the national and international levels. All the activities are in project mode and are being financially supported by government agencies such as Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Department of Information Technology (DIT). Looking at the need of skilled manpower in the field of telemedicine and e health, a School of Telemedicine and Biomedical Informatics is coming up in the campus.

The national and international medical partners of the SGPGIMS Telemedicine Network include; all three Medical Colleges of Orissa located at Cuttack, Berhampur and Burla, two district hospitals of Uttarakhand State (Almora & Sirnagar), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Postgraduate Iinstitute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Amritha Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Ranguel University, Toulouse, France & Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, USA.

The technical partners are Indian Space Research Organization, Bangalore, and Center for Development of Advanced Computing, Pune & Mohali and Online Telemedicine Research Institute, Ahmadabad.