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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : July 1, 2022 11:43 AM IST
Therefore, these must only be taken as directed by a physician.
India has now managed to look beyond the pandemic and focus on economic and social growth. There is no denying that healthcare services have also been transformed during this period. Today, the conventional approach to seeking medical care has changed. For instance, the number of in-person consultations has dropped, and the demand for telemedicine has steadily grown. People started avoiding face-to-face doctor consultations from March 2020 onwards when the pandemic swept across the country. However, now the preference for online or telephonic consultations continues, not because of fear or compulsion, but due to preference and convenience.
The other and even more impactful change brought about by the contagion is the increased role of general practitioners in the battle against the virus as well as taking care of routine medicine and chronic disease management. Despite the lack of adequate protective gear, medical devices and equipment like respirators and supply of oxygen, local doctors came to the fore as the support system for patients. As doctors, we have braved even the risk of getting infected ourselves, and many clinicians as well as healthcare staffers actually lost their lives in this battle.
Let us take a look at how family physicians have evolved in the last two years today on the occasion of National Doctors' Day.
Family doctors have been dealing with not only the pandemic risks or managing chronic diseases, but also with new stress factors. A large number of caregivers are uncomfortable with new working styles. Unlike the convention of assessing the condition of the patient on the basis of physical observation, they have to decide on the course of treatment on the basis of what they hear from the patients without seeing them.
All things considered, the pandemic has also shown how the medical profession is capable of adapting, evolving and succeeding even in the aftermath of unprecedented crisis situations. From an institutional and 'one size fits all' approach, the focus is now on family medicine ecosystem. In a country like India, where healthcare delivery has been hospital-centric, the out-of-home healthcare transformation is being spearheaded by generalist family doctors.
Patients look up to family physicians for information, advice, support, referrals and other aspects of healthcare alongside treatment of general ailments. In the new normal, they also need to act as the support systems for hospitals since they are tasked with managing the bulk of the routine patients who are now hesitant to visit hospitals due to the pandemic concerns.
Going forward, family physicians will play a greater role in pandemic research through careful monitoring of patients. Unlike the specialists who focus on diseases and curing of ailments related to specific organs or body parts, general practitioners act as the go-to point for all kinds of health challenges faced by patients as well as their family members. For instance, a patient would contact their family doctor for routine check-up or get in touch with them for consultation on a specific health condition. Irrespective of the query, family physicians act as the single point health advisor for the entire family. They identify a disease through symptoms and early diagnostics and upon detection, they recommend the patient to the right specialist.
In the digitally driven healthcare ecosystems, the role of organized home healthcare providers has also transformed into something akin to the approach taken by family doctors. They act as health educators who spread awareness about potential risks, recommend screening for early-stage identification of ailments and the treatment course for serious conditions.
Clinicians and home healthcare providers are ideal to act as family doctors, and in the new normal, it will be imperative upon them to manage chronic diseases. As we enter into a new normal of living, hospitals and institutional care have increasingly become exclusive for specialized and advanced healthcare. On the other hand, the trusted out-of-hospital caregivers have once again become embedded into the social system as family doctors.
(This article is authored by Dr Vishal Sehgal, President, Portea Medical)
