Covid-19: More than 300 doctors volunteer to provide consultations through Odisha govt’s telemedicine helpline

Sujit Kumar Bisoyi | TNN | Apr 7, 2020, 21:12 IST

Representative image.

BHUBANESWAR: Over 300 doctors have so far come forward to provide voluntary services to people with Covid-19 symptoms through the telemedicine helpline (14410 number), which would be made functional by the state government at 11 am on Wednesday.
Anyone, who is suffering from Covid- 19 symptoms like cough, fever, tiredness and respiratory problems can dial the telemedicine helpline to seek medical advices from the qualified doctors, who have registered themselves to provide medical advices to the suspected Covid-19 cases. It’s a completely free service.
The telemedicine helpline is besides the 104 helpline set up by the state health department to register names of persons returning from Covid-19 affected areas within and outside the country and to give medical advice to people, who are in quarantine. The 104 helpline number also facilitates general medical assistance to general public.
“The 104 helpline is now getting 12,000 to 14,000 calls a day. Since number of positive cases are increasing, there are apprehensions among people over Covid-19 symptoms. We expect that the number of calls to the existing helpline may go up in the next a few days. Keeping that in mind, we have decided to launch a new telemedicine helpline number (14410),” said state works secretary Krishan Kumar, who monitors functioning of the 104 helpline.
A Delhi-based firm (Step One) has developed the telemedicine platform, which is a interactive voice response (IVR) system-based module that enables the dial pad for identification, segmentation and routing of callers to the appropriate persons.
“When people dial to the telemedicine number, it will seek certain queries about their travel history, symptoms and other details. Based on the response of the dialler, a history-sheet will be prepared. The doctors (whoever will be available at that time) will be alerted about the call. The doctors through a mobile app will immediately dial the person concerned and prescribe him medicines or advice him to go for Covid-19 test,” said Kumar.
The new platform will give a better experiences to the people seeking medical advices at the moment, said Kumar adding the Medical Council of India has relaxed the guidelines for telemedicine consultations in view of the Covid-19 situation.
Both the 104 helpline number and telemedicine platforms are interlinked, said an official source.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday appealed doctors in Odisha and across the country to register themselves with the portal to provide their services voluntarily in the fight against Covid-19. Naveen said the doctors are the frontline forces fighting against the virus.
To ensure that the Covid-19 patients in Odisha are treated in a separate hospital (apart from the general hospital), the state government plans to set up total 34 standalone COVID-19 hospitals and Isolation centres across the state with total 5697 bed capacity. Out of these 34 hospitals, as many as seven hospitals have already become functional with total 1497 bed strength. Some of the hospitals have also started receiving Covid-19 patients.