Telemedicine: Embracing virtual care during COVID-19 pandemic

Suneela Garg; Navya Gangadharan; Nidhi Bhatnagar; M M Singh; S K Raina; Sagar Galwankar

doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_918_20

Telemedicine: Embracing virtual care during COVID-19 pandemic

J Family Med Prim Care. 2020 Sep 30;9(9):4516-4520. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_918_20. eCollection 2020 Sep.

Authors

Suneela Garg¹, Navya Gangadharan¹, Nidhi Bhatnagar¹, M M Singh², S K Raina³, Sagar Galwankar⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi University, New Delhi, India.
² Director Professor, Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.
³ Professor Dept of Community Medicine, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College Kangra at Tanda (HP), New Delhi, India.
⁴ Chief Executive Officer, INDUSEM, Associate Professor & Director for Research in Emergency Medicine, University of Florida, Sarasota Memorial Hospital New Delhi, India.

Abstract

Telemedicine and related e-health facilities facilitate care from a distance through electronic information systems. COVID-19 pandemic is establishing telemedicine in the health care delivery system of countries. Telehealth is contributing significantly in health care delivery during the COVID-19 crisis. For mild-to-moderate symptoms of COVID-19 or any illness, telehealth services might represent a better, efficient way to receive initial care and perform triaging. Telemedicine also has a significant role in screening for COVID-19 symptoms and delivering routine needs and follow-up care. The large-scale adoption of telemedicine in public health care delivery is still not visible in low- and middle-income countries like India. Adoption by patients and healthcare professionals is limited and their concerns need to be addressed to ensure its utilization in future of the care continuum. In the current paper, we aim to review recent measures of Telemedicine adopted during the course of pandemic and its impact on public health in lower-middle income countries like India.

Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; telemedicine.