The Elixir Technology

With government issuing urgent guidelines on telemedicine, hospitals switch to tele-consultations during the lockdown

- RITA DUTTA

After the alarming surge in the number of cases of COVID-19 and the spike in the number of death due to it in India, and a complete lockdown of the nation for three weeks, patients have been deeply inconvenienced. Days before the lockdown, there was a drastic rise in patients with flu-like symptoms and OPDs were crowded, but hospitals as per instructions from the government had to cancel elective surgeries and discourage patients to visit the hospital unless it was for an emergency. Post the lockdown, while hospitals are operating at a minimal service level, the need for medical assistance for the common man is expected to grow at an unprecedented rate. The ailing patients are confined into their homes, unable to get treatment. Tele-consultation has bridged this gap in times of lockdown and inconvenience in reaching the hospital. Leading healthcare chains in India are switching to tele-consultations with an objective of allowing a greater number of patients to seek medical consultation from the safety of their homes.

Across the world, the use of telemedicine facilities has been leveraged to deal with pandemics. Be it video consultations or voice chat, a large number of people under self-quarantine are seeking medical advice through virtual consultations to better monitor and manage their condition.