The COVID 19 crisis rolled out in December 2019 and ever since then it has gone to affect the entire world and bring life, as we know it, to a standstill. The crisis has also exposed deep-rooted faults in our healthcare system. These faults are the major reason why hundreds of thousands across the world succumbed to the deadly virus.

We were all aware of the lack of doctors, trained healthcare workers, medical equipment, and hospital beds in our healthcare system. However, this crisis has brought to light how important it is to make sure that there is no shortage of these things if we want to save people’s lives. As the number of patients in hospitals is increasing, it is now a major concern to make sure that people don't unnecessarily crowd the hospitals, yet they receive proper health care. This is when Telemedicine appeared as the knight in the shining armour.

What changed with Telemedicine?

Telemedicine is a term used for providing patients with all aspects of healthcare in a virtual form. Shifting to it on a large scale will help reduce the burden on the already strained hospitals and will allow patients to receive essential care right from their homes. Telemedicine is not entirely a new concept. In fact, the Telemedicine Society of India was established almost 18 years ago. Despite being around for quite some time, the concept never blew up because of several reasons.

The first being the lack of awareness. Not just amongst patients but among healthcare professionals too. Many didn't understand what exactly the concept is and thought that nothing could replace diagnosing a patient physically.

Another factor that stunted this industry’s growth was its doubted legality. Several people led to a question if giving medical advice through virtual means was legal. This question became prevalent because of many medical associations claiming that they would not support professionals who followed the practice of offering virtual diagnosis and care.

Also, the lack of investment from the government proved to be a major hurdle in the growth of telemedicine in India.

All of that, however, were things of the past. As we already mentioned, telemedicine is the best way to offer excellent care to patients while relieving hospitals from the burden of a large number of patients. Here is a full report issued by the government with guidelines on telemedicine services. Telemedicine provides a number of benefits in the current scenario:

  1. It will provide patients with services unavailable in Hospitals

As the number of patients in hospitals is growing by the day, many have been compelled to shut down several services which are not as high priority as treating patients suffering from the virus, to redirect staff. Patients who need these services are now unsure of how they can get access to it. With telemedicine, hospitals can provide them with virtual access to these services.

  1. Reducing crowds at hospitals

Social distancing is the need of the hour. We cannot afford crowds gathering at hospitals. However, we also cannot ask them to not consult their doctors for different health issues. Telemedicine can help patients consult doctors at home. They can also be handed over a self-treatment plan for their ailments until the crisis is over.

  1. Remote diagnosis and monitoring

Healthcare workers are at great risk of being exposed to the virus as they treat patients. If patients with symptoms go into their chambers for getting diagnosed, the risk of infection will increase. That is why it's important that patients with symptoms consult doctors virtually.

If the symptoms are very mild, they can follow a treatment plan at their home itself, only coming to the hospital if the doctor feels the need to call them in. It will also become easier to remotely monitor the patients in their homes and will help in establishing a database showing areas with more patients.

  1. Doorstep Medicine Delivery

Online medicine delivery has become a major part of telemedicine. Presently, when people are getting prescribed medicines by their doctors virtually, it's important that they also don't step out of their houses to purchase them. This brings in the need to have a system that allows them to get access to essential drugs without having to risk exposure to the virus. Online pharmacies have become very popular due to this reason and are expected to grow at a very high rate.

After this crisis is over, telemedicine will help us keep-up with the norms of social distancing while also ensuring the good health of people. It will enable the doctors to treat more patients each day as they won't have to spend time travelling to hospitals or clinics to diagnose their patients. It will also help the patients as they will be able to access healthcare at their own convenience.

When we get through the crisis and the dust settles, telemedicine is definitely going to become a part of the mainstream healthcare system because of the tremendous possibilities that sophisticated technology holds in making good healthcare more accessible to people irrespective of the physical distance.