The true potential of telemedicine was witnessed during the COVID 19 pandemic. Not only did it play a significant role during this public health emergency but also proved to be an effective and viable option in treating, diagnosing, and managing the disease, in addition to providing a safe space to consult your doctor for other ailments, without fear of contracting COVID.
Pre-pandemic, patients viewed telemedicine as just an additional option and the idea of virtual health visits to consult with physicians didn’t seem like a necessity. However, COVID-19 gave telemedicine a tremendous push to meet healthcare needs along with traditional methods of medical consultation.
Telemedicine penetration is the primary focus when it comes to improving access and availability of healthcare for both public and private players including investors - one of the most important steps that need to be addressed is education and knowledge building for both doctors and patients.
In this fast-growing healthcare segment, considering telehealth is a virtual health delivery system, it inherently poses a potential risk of information misinterpretation by the doctor. This could lead to the risk of erroneous diagnosis or prescription. A collective effort to educate doctors to navigate technological incompatibilities, train them to evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients providing remote delivery of healthcare confidently is much needed.
The same is true for patients; there is a good chance that the clinician's information may be misconstrued by the patient, resulting in complications. Therefore, investing in training and development is a requirement if these services are to be widely adopted by both doctors and patients.
The new government guidelines on telemedicine that permitted registered medical practitioners to provide medical consultation via telemedicine marked a significant step forward in India’s acceptance of telemedicine. However, data integration and data security remain a challenge. To cater to this requirement, there has been a surge in the usage of blockchain technology by telehealth platforms. These new-age portals using blockchain technology are designed to provide complete data security and ensure transparency and interoperability of telehealth services. It's easier to store medical records of the patients and doctor consultations in a secured and decentralized system.
Telemedicine has worked as a valuable ally for doctors across the world and it should be made hassle-free for doctors to use these platforms. Only a few telehealth platforms provide doctors with the ease of setting their fees and taking appointments as per their availability. Reducing the burden of administrative work like complex subscribing processes to these platforms, creating invoices or generating prescriptions, paperwork for accounting, and keeping transaction records, which are some very time-consuming tasks. While some unique telemedicine platforms are highly doctor-centric and take care of these processes efficiently, these practices should be accepted widely.
There have been instances when video calls by doctors have guided paramedics in the ambulance to provide emergency care, and services like Tele-ICU models have been a saving grace, especially during the pandemic. Thus, telemedicine will continue developing and will be used in a multitude of settings by doctors and patients.
This fast-emerging healthcare segment can gain acceptability as a mainstream health service model and become a key part of India's healthcare system. With collective efforts, from the government and technology providers, we can build a robust telehealth ecosystem.
(Dr Haleema Yezdani, is a diabetologist. She is associated with Solve.Care and GTHE as their ambassador from Bangalore. Views are personal)
