The path towards making remote health care a mainstay of current medical practice is not entirely smooth. Telemedicine can especially help people outside the big cities, where advanced medical infrastructure may be lacking and people have to travel a long distance to reach a reasonable healthcare facility quicker. Patients concerned about symptoms can ask for guidance and the algorithmic system can respond with the most useful answers and further refer to the concerned specialist based on the requirement.Ĭurrent modern day mobile devices even have the facility to measure the pulse rate, oxygen saturation and going a step further also provide an ECG like tracing of heart rhythm which can substitute for the baseline evaluation over a telemedicine consult. The use of chatbots, or “doctor-less” screening-once they have been studied and shown to be effective-is another means of easing the load on clinicians. Video visits are more efficient, requiring fewer health-care workers to manage the consultation, freeing them to work on other tasks. A telemedicine visit can be conducted without exposing staff to viruses/infections in times of such outbreaks. Telemedicine practice can prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, reducing the risks to both healthcare workers and patients. Not only does it save time and cut commutes, when doctors see patients over audio or video calls, but the facilities can also conserve protective equipment for healthcare workers, which is of paramount importance today. Apart from the patients facing an acute illness, wherein the services in the emergency set up in the hospital is life-saving, most of the other routine out-patient consultations can be managed through a digital interface, at least for the time being.
Since the beginning of March, the number of patients seeking teleconsultation on digital health care platform has more than tripled, as per reports. Globally, telemedicine has also acquired validation with the Centers for disease control and prevention in the USA and the National Health Service in the UK.Īs people face a nationwide lockdown and need medical consultations amidst travel restrictions, remote health care facilitates an important and growing need to fill in the void in the current scenario. In India, the guidelines proposed a few years back were sanctioned by the centre to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak. Besides, it needed to overcome regulatory and commercial hurdles, also requiring a proper digital infrastructure that ensures a secure connection between patient and physicians. However, it has not become a mainstream form of patient interaction because it defies the age-old custom of the physical visit to the doctor. Telemedicine was conceptualised quite a long time back and has been steadily on the rise in recent times. Though it may not be seen as a solution to the current crisis, it will have far-reaching repercussions in the days to come. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is hastening the transition to a new model of remotely delivered healthcare that embraces the benefits of digital and data technologies.
The feel of the pulse, auscultation of the chest and placing the well-informed hand on the abdomen to feel the lumps and bumps can never be taken for granted. The communication gap between the patients and doctors for want of time and distance has reduced over the years owing to advancements in technology.įor years together, the medical student is taught that a proper history & thorough clinical examination is the basic prerequisite to arrive at a provisional diagnosis, prior to ordering investigations. It has become more convenient to track, regulate, and monitor several details such as medicine intake, lab investigations and treatment. Healthcare and other medical services can be easily accessed with the help of a smartphone. Though they say there is no substitute to the physician’s touch while treating illness, in today’s real-world scenario it is still prudent and technically feasible to consult your doctor online and seek timely medical advice with a mobile phone/I pad/Laptop.
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