PHARMA LITERATI

Union health ministry’s latest telemedicine practice guideline has not only given boost to telemedicine sector but has also given clarity in its implementation, says Dr Shankar Narang, COO, Paras Healthcare. Dr Narang added that lack of clarity on telemedicine was often recognized as a hindrance in the growth of the sector and more so lack of guidelines did not instill confidence in healthcare providers to use patient-friendly technology to reach out in a major way. With increasing number of people seeking medical help through advanced technological means such as video consultations or voice chat, telemedicine has helped reduce the spread of the virus by reducing hospital footfalls. “We strongly believe that these guidelines will serve to institutionalize and mainstream the role of telemedicine in healthcare. We are already witnessing a surge in the use of telemedicine facilities across the world to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic at hand,” added Dr Narang. The purpose of...

In order to enable registered medical practitioners provide healthcare using telemedicine effectively, Union health ministry has issued telemedicine practice guidelines. These guidelines have been prepared in consultation with NITI Aayog. In India, till now there was no legislation or guidelines on the practice of telemedicine, through video, phone and internet based platforms like web, chat, apps, etc. The purpose of these guidelines is to give practical advice to doctors so that all services and models of care used by doctors and health workers are encouraged to consider the use of telemedicine as a part of normal practice. These guidelines will assist the medical practitioner in pursuing a sound course of action to provide effective and safe medical care founded on current information, available resources, and patient needs to ensure patient and provider safety. These telemedicine guidelines will help realize the full potential of these advancements in technology for h...

Today’s economic times reports the launch of the service named ‘Sehat’. This service is aimed to provide healthcare facilities in rural areas. The government of India launched this telemedicine initiative in collaboration with Apollo Hospitals under which people can consult doctors through video link. As part of the service named 'Sehat', people in rural areas can consult doctors online and also order generic drugs . The Common Service Centres (CSCs) have been delivering tele-consultation services with support from Apollo and Medanta in some areas and now with this initiative the tele- consultation services are being extended to 60,000 CSCs across the country. "Quality and affordable healthcare is one of the emerging need for citizens in rural areas. I am happy that CSC SPV and Apollo have come together to address this issue and design a workable solution," Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said while launching the service. The CSCs wi...