TeleMedicine:The Way Forward In The New Normal

Abstract

More than a year has elapsed since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), and characterized it as a pandemic. This has exposed the public health systems across the whole world and wreaked havoc in India. Access to healthcare has been greatly hampered, as a result, there has been an increased focus on telemedicine in the country. Telemedicine involves providing healthcare and treatment services through telecommunication.  The Indian government has increased focus on the teleconsultation services by e-Sanjeevani through two modalities, these are - eSanjeevani Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) and eSanjeevaniOPD. However, teleconsultation has its pros and cons. On one side, it is a boon in pandemic times that a patient residing in a remote area is able to seek quality treatment from a specialist doctor; while on the other side, because of its virtual nature it has certain drawbacks such as lack of infrastructure, training and more importantly the physical examination of the patient gets missed. Although, amidst all these obstacles telemedicine is a good initiative but one has to have another look at its approach Another major problem has been the availability of doctors for eSanjeevani in some states which leads to the quality of service being compromised; something that should be addressed as quickly as possible. Efforts should be made for ensuring the availability of doctors for eSanjeevni at tertiary care government hospitals which would ultimately lead to the overall improvement in the quality of healthcare even in the remotest of the health centre across the country.