In March 2020, The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has published the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines for Enabling Registered Medical Practitioners to Provide Healthcare Using Telemedicine
Telemedicine Practice Guidelines, the need of the hour
“Disasters and pandemics pose unique challenges to providing health care. Though telemedicine will not solve them all, it is well suited for scenarios in which medical practitioners can evaluate and manage patients.
A telemedicine visit can be conducted without exposing staff to viruses/ infections in the times of such outbreaks. Telemedicine practice can prevent the transmission of infectious diseases reducing the risks to both health care workers and patients. Unnecessary and avoidable exposure of the people involved in delivery of healthcare can to be avoided using telemedicine and patients can be screened remotely. It can provide rapid access to medical practitioners who may not be immediately available in person. In addition, it makes available extra working hands to provide physical care at the respective health institutions. Thus, health systems that are invested in telemedicine are well positioned to ensure that patients with Covid-19 kind of issues receive the care they need.
The government is committed to providing equal access to quality care to all and digital health is a critical enabler for the overall transformation of the health system. Hence, mainstreaming telemedicine in health systems will minimize inequity and barriers to access. India’s digital health policy advocates use of digital tools for improving the efficiency and outcome of the healthcare system and lays significant focus on the use of telemedicine services, especially in the Health and Wellness Centers at the grassroots level wherein a midlevel provider/health worker can connect the patients to the doctors through technology platforms in providing timely and best possible care.“
References
- Telemedicine Practice Guidelines, link
Telemedicine Resource Links
- Telemedicine Society of India Website >> http://tsi.org.in/
- How to use telehealth to care for your patients during COVID–19: Concise guidelines and practical tools to help transition your practice to telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Link shared by Jai Ganesh U) https://telehealthtoolbox.netlify.com/
- Covid-19: a remote assessment in primary care >> (Link shared by Jai Ganesh U) https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m1182
- CAHO-TSI Webinar : Panel Discussion on Telemedicine Practice Guidelines by MCI (MoH&FW), 31 March, 2020 link
- Watch this playlist on the #Telemedicine Guidelines 2020, Shared by Dr. Suresh Bada Math, @nimhans (H/T Jai Ganesh Udayasankaran)
