People have been switching to online for medical consultation, with healthcare infrastructure in India coming under immense pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic. There has been a 500 per cent growth in online medical consultations between March-May 2020, healthcare aggregator Practo said in a report.
While 50 million Indians accessed healthcare through telemedicine during the lockdown period, 80 per cent of all users were first-timers.
The report titled, "How India accessed healthcare", points out that 67 per cent of the consultations resulted in in-person visits by doctors.
It is to be noted that medical infrastructure has come under extreme stress across the world, more so in India, which is witnessing a severe rise in coronavirus cases and hospitals being turned into isolation wards. "Covid-19 has been stretching healthcare systems across the world, as nations deal with the rising number of cases while trying to bring down the mortality rates. In the ensuing lockdown, state and central governments have embraced telemedicine as one of the main health and wellness strategies," said Sunil Raina, National Convener, Organized Medicine Academic Guild.
67 per cent of the consultations resulted in in-person visits by doctors. (Shutterstock)
While people inquired about Gynaecology and Dermatology, Covid-19 continues to the topmost concern, the report pointed. More than 50 per cent of all e-consultations were related to the coronavirus pandemic, with 70 per cent of queries coming from metros.
Surge in mental health consultations
As the debate around mental health spikes in the lockdown, there was a 200 per cent rise in psychiatry teleconsultations across the country. "In the midst of a global pandemic crisis, youngsters are grappling with work-related stress and general anxiety rising from isolation and loneliness, often leading to panic attacks. This gives rise to the immediate need to attend to these patients," said Dr. Venkatesh Babu, Consultant Psychiatry at Fortis, Bangalore.
62 per cent of psychiatry consultation was sought by youngsters in the age group of 21-30 years.
Shashank ND, CEO, Practo said that the sudden explosion of interest in telemedicine shows that the healthcare delivery has suddenly gone through a tectonic shift. "Doctors, patients, authorities are all slowly accepting this new form of healthcare delivery, which has shown a lot of promise. Masses beyond metropolitan areas are increasingly getting used to consulting specialists online," he added.
Age-wise split of tele psychiatry consultations. (Practo)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had recently appealed volunteer doctors to give free telephonic consultation to people in the national capital as it grapples with the deadly infection. "I appeal to all doctors to volunteer for Delhi government's Corona Telemedicine Helpline. Give a missed call now to 08047192219 to register. The people of Delhi need your support in this difficult hour," he tweeted.
Kejriwal in his appeal added, "The way the government is helping people to get treatment, the society's doctors have also come together to help people. These doctors have been given guidance, consultation to people over the phone. If you are a doctor and you want to give free medical advice to people than join us on this number."I appeal to all doctors to volunteer for Delhi government's Corona Telemedicine Helpline. Give a missed call now to 08047192219 to register. The people of Delhi need your support in this difficult hour. #DelhiFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/7C7q0TstOB
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 13, 2020
India on Monday witnessed over 14,000 new cases taking the tally to 425,282 as the death toll jumped to 13,699. The country registered over 10,000 cases for the 11th day in a row. The number of recoveries also continued to surge with 2,37,195 patients cured so far, while there were 1,74,387 active cases, according to the Health Ministry