Bhubaneswar: CARE Hospitals in Bhubaneswar has deployed innovative ‘social distancing’ measures to continue providing general consultation to its patients at all its centres.
With the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare urging doctors and healthcare establishments to take advantage of telemedicine services given the current pandemic and the lockdown imposed across the country, doctors at the hospital said this would ensure continuity of treatment for patients diagnosed with chronic conditions. The ministry earlier this week had issued the revised national telemedicine guidelines, in a bid to reduce risks of transmission for medical professionals as well as patients, and enabling doctors to write prescriptions based on telephonic conversations.
Dr Pragyan Kumar Routray, Head of Department – Critical Care, CARE Hospitals, speaking on the initiative said, “Patients are being consulted remotely by the doctors of different specialties at our hospitals. “Even for those who need to visit the hospital for emergency services, we have a three-level screening for everyone at the hospital centers, including for our doctors, paramedics and attendants,”
“All our doctors and nurses are trained in the use of Telemedicine to consult patients and a special team of medical professional will work round the clock by visiting the patient’s home to collect samples for diagnosis if required,” he added.
Of the several measures undertaken by the hospital, a core committee consisting of senior medical professionals meet every day to monitor and audit the situation.
Elaborating on the practice of Telemedicine at CARE Hospitals, Dr Mahendra Prasad Tripathy, Head of Department and Director Cardiology, said, “We consult patients over online digital platforms as per the government directives and first decide if it is important for the patient to visit the hospital. Then as per scenarios, further medication and self-care are prescribed with follow up appointments. A patient with High blood sugar may be prescribed medicine as per diagnosis but for certain cases like hypertension, a physical diagnosis is imperative. Thus the use of telemedicine depends on different disease and scenarios.”
“With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have also advised and educated patients on the use and benefits of Telemedicine and how this can be a viable option for consultation while isolation oneself to prevent the spread of infection”, he added.
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