JOIN USCoronavirus Lockdown: Gynaecology among the top consulted specialities across e-healthcare firms
Many healthcare companies offering teleconsultation facilities are seeing the number of gynaecology-related queries soaring post the lockdown, making it among the topmost consulted specialities.
Top queries, according to doctors across platforms, have been connected with period problems, pregnancy complications during coronavirus, birth control techniques, and miscarriage.
Doctor consultations around gynaecology have seen over 80% increase on Lybrate, while there has been a 40% spike in paediatric-related consultations on the platform.
Saurabh Arora, Founder & CEO, Lybrate said, “As it is dawning upon people how unsafe it is to step out, pregnant women are opting to consult doctors online, resulting in a significant rise in virtual doctor visits on Lybrate.”
Gynaecology is among the top consulted specialities on Practo, recording a hike of 250%. Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Healthcare Strategy Officer, Practo said, “Gynaecologists who consult online have indicated that a lot of women have been reaching out to them with queries like unanticipated irregularity in periods and how expectant mothers can have a safe pregnancy.”
According to company insights, 52% of all gynaecology-related consults on Practo are from women, while 48% of the queries are from men, possibly for their women family members. Gynaecology was the most consulted speciality among women, with 50% of the consults coming from Tier-1 and 50% from Tier-2 cities in the last few weeks. Top metro cities where most of the queries related to gynaecology came from, are Bengaluru, followed by Delhi NCR, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai.
Harsimarbir Singh, Co-Founder, Pristyn Care said that the e-queries for gynaecology have recorded a four-fold hike since the lockdown started. “Gynaecology related queries make up about 22% of our overall e-consults,” he added.
Crysta, Redcliffe Life Sciences’ mother and child health arm, which helps pregnant women undertake regular counselling through a toll-free number, during the lockdown has also answered over 500 queries so far.
Many gynaecologists at hospitals have also started virtual consultations to attend to the patients’ concerns, advising them to only come to hospitals if it's an emergency.
“In hospital OPD, we are attending to only emergency and obstetric consultations, more specifically for high risk and near delivery patients. Since conveyance is also a big problem, we have got virtual consultations where patients reach out to us,” said Dr. Aparna Jha, Consultant Gynecologist and Obstetrician at Apollo Cradle, Brookefield in Bengaluru said.
Dr. Swati Gaikwad, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist at Motherhood Hospital, Kharadi, Pune said, “Only high-risk patients are asked to visit hospital OPD at a given time with an appointment. However, for emergency and delivery services, hospitals are equipped with trained gynaecologists and obstetricians 24×7.”
Ayush Mishra, Founder and CEO, Tattvan E Clinics revealed that there has been a 35% increase in gynaecology consultations on the platform.
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