Telemedicine - Once a hard sell, now a booming demand - ET HealthWorld

Representative imageby Dr. Rishi Bhatnagar President, Aeris CommunicationsAs of April 21, 2020, there were over 2.5 million confirmed cases of Covid -19 around the world and nearly 180,000 fatalities. According to a report by Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) in the US, India has a shortage of around 600K doctors and 2 Mn nurses. India’s digital health policy advocates use of digital tools for improving the efficiency and outcome of the healthcare system and lays significant focus on the use of telemedicine services, especially in the Health and Wellness Centers at the grassroots level wherein a midlevel provider/health worker can connect the patients to the doctors through technology platforms in providing timely and best possible care. On March 26, 2020 the health ministry issued telemedicine guidelines enabling doctors to write prescriptions based on telephone conversations that reduce risks of transmission for medical professionals as well as patients. In the current scenario, telemedicine and telehealth may turn out to be the cheapest, as well as the fastest, way to not only bridge the rural–urban health divide but also manage the Covid-19 crisis. Given the rate at which our medical professionals are getting engulfed by Covid-19, if doctors, nurses and paramedical staff need to be quarantined, it could lead to a disastrous situation. A telemedicine enabled virtual visit by registered medical practitioners (RMP) can be conducted without exposing staff to viruses/infections in the times of such outbreaks, thus, preventing the transmission of infectious diseases and reducing the risks to both health care workers and patients. Using telemedicine, such patients can be screened remotely, thus providing rapid access to RMPs who may not be immediately available in person at a distant location. Indian healthcare institutions who have invested in telemedicine are well positioned to ensure that patients with Covid-19 kind of issues receive the care they need. It will provide a comprehensive framework for applications, mode of communication, medical ethics, data security and confidentiality, document requirements, fees, process, drug list, technological platforms and more.