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Teleconsultation In India: Benefits And Roadblocks

As we are moving towards a new normal, teleconsultation is going to be a vital part of the new healthcare system, and this may also reduce the burden on the healthcare infrastructure.

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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : May 12, 2022 3:48 PM IST

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Tele- consultation is on the brink of revolutionising healthcare in the country.

'Telehealth' (TH) encompasses all those components and activities of the healthcare system which are conducted via telecommunication technology. The use of electronic information and communication technologies to provide and support healthcare between participants who are separated by a distance is called 'telemedicine'. Virtual healthcare is the new normal. It's an important part of modern healthcare and practiced worldwide. Keep reading to know more about the advantages of telemedicine and how this revolution is likely to sweep the health-care sector in the coming years.

Teleconsultation as a concept, is being practised in some form at least since more than three decades. Till recently, it was mainly being used for follow-up advice, or clarifications and explanations after a regular consultation. With advances in communication technologies and emergence of applications which could transport pictures and even live videos, the scope of telemedicine rapidly increased. In India, it faced a temporary lull when a judgement by the Bombay high court in 2018 was critical about telemedicine. However, the announcement of telemedicine guidelines by the GOI last year gave a timely fillip to this medium. Besides the boutique benefits convenience and promptness of advice available with this platform, telemedicine can emerge as one of the greatest path-breaking routes to bridge the massive health inequity in our country and in many third world countries.

As we are moving towards a new normal, teleconsultation is going to be a vital part of the new healthcare system, and this may also reduce the burden on the healthcare infrastructure. Over the past few decades, government programmes have enabled primary health services in most parts of the country. However, there is a huge deficit and inequity in provision of appropriate and adequate secondary and specialised services. Teleconsultation is one of the most potent solutions in managing crises. The explosion in digital connectivity has enabled the effective use of this tool. Timely diagnosis is the key to optimum healthcare. Remote patient monitoring and treatment will help augment the outcomes and strengthen digital transformation of healthcare.

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People living in metropolitan cities get access to medical specialists easily whereas those who stay in rural areas do not have the capability for such specialists opinion easily. Due to the lack of awareness, or travel travails, women and children suffer more from this inadequacy. Thus these patients have to manage only with the expertise and knowledge of the local treating doctor. Thus, telemedicine, especially teleconsultation is a boon for such people.

Here are a few advantages of teleconsultation:

  • Teleconsultation allows you to consult a specialist doctor irrespective of where you are located and get consultation on a video call.
  • By reducing the need to travel for physical consultations, especially for the non-urban patients, it will:
    • save money for travel,
    • the hassles of staying in the urban centre for the duration of the consultation episode and
    • also loss of time and productivity for the care-giver (family member who needs to travel with the patient).
  • By reducing the cost and inconvenience of travelling for such a consultation, it will significantly increase patients' access to specialty expertise, thus enabling early diagnosis. 'A stitch in time saves nine'.
  • It will permit easy and frequent follow-up consultations ensuring better compliance.
  • By reducing the need for physical consultation, the chances of infection and cross-infection in a crowded hospital waiting room are avoided.
  • By reducing the need for physical consultation, the possibility of cross infection from travel is avoided.
  • Digitization of health records will help in better data availability, tracking the disease, and formulate treatment strategies. Quality data collected can help patients maintain a robust history of ailments, which can save time and energy when they are referred to tertiary (specialty) hospitals.

Roadblocks in the process of getting the best out of teleconsultation

Bill Gates once commented: "The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don't really even notice it, so it's part of everyday life." To universalise teleconsultation, it should follow established healthcare models and norms of specialists' consultations as closely as possible.

  • Digital literacy can be a challenge in a large section of the rural population. Additionally, although women and children are more in need of healthcare support, there has been a lower digital penetration among India's female population and that keeps them more alienated from such digital platforms also.
  • The inability to examine a patient physically, leaves a level of incompleteness in the assessment of the patient and this void is difficult to fill even with expensive investigations at times.
  • The absence of 'personal touch' or 'physical connection' with a care-giver leaves a level of dissatisfaction in the patient which may significantly affect the compliance with the medical advice given.
  • A teleconsultation often becomes an isolated episode in the health journey of the patient and if it is done without the involvement of the treating doctor, the 'continuity of care' is broken.

The last word: Tele- consultation is on the brink of revolutionising healthcare in the country. The need is to evolve solutions which are simple and user-friendly besides being inclusive and more effective. Early and active acceptance by the medical professionals and patients will pave the way to a safer, more efficient and far more remunerative healthcare milieu for everyone.

The article is contributed by Dr Ketan Parikh, a renowned paediatric surgeon and Founder, PyraMed Telemedicine. He says, PyraMed Telemedicine has identified the roadblocks in the use of teleconsultation and has plugged the solutions into their new platform 'PyraMed'.

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