Medical nurse consulting with general practitioner via video call and recommending tablets to senior patient
from any remote location . These devices , by TytoCare , are simple to use and capable of examining the lungs , heart and heart rate , ears , throat , skin , and body temperature .
The pandemic has led to a fivefold increase in teleconsultation volume at the hospital . Now that it appears to be under control in Thailand , at least for now , the call volume has fallen , however , although it ’ s still twice as high as it was at pre-COVID-19 levels .
“ During this pandemic , we ’ ve found opportunities to alleviate pain points felt by our patients through continued innovation in various technologies , enabling easy access to hospital services and going a long way toward easing anxieties .
“ So we feel that there ’ s room for telemedicine within a hospital setting . Innovation is good so long as it brings benefits and added convenience to our patients . We feel , and the numbers back this up , that is the case ,” said Leloup .
The pandemic has also created new opportunities to fundamentally transform a number of areas in healthcare delivery , says Dr Ravi Bickram Shrestha , senior director of Global Healthcare IT at Canon Medical Systems .
He believes that the traditional workflow within and between healthcare institutions has been challenged by the recent situation , leading to more flexibility to transform healthcare delivery through a shared network of clinical tools , resources , advanced logistics , and technology .
“ COVID-19 has functioned as a catalyst in the growth of telemedicine and is bringing digital health services close to the home . Virtual clinical consultation has been accounting for nearly 80 percent of all consultations during the closed-door COVID-19 crisis ,” said Dr Shrestha . “ But this massive increase in teleconsultation across all disciplines is challenging the social norm of the need to have faceto-face consultation , empathy , and informed in-person decision-making .”
When pandemic cases fall , he predicts that many governments will encourage a return to face-to-face consultation but notes that the telemedicine society will continue in some form .
“ When the front doors of our homes open up globally post-lockdown , more face-to-face consultation will resume . But the option for and acceptance of technology-led remote consultation will help streamline triage and care more effectively .
“ Telemedicine is an attractive solution under a pandemic and also post-pandemic in an increasingly tech-savvy and connected society where personalised , informed care is more important ,” he added . n
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