Private hospitals start telemedicine to fight coronavirus

With the suspension of OPD services in private hospitals in Mangaluru, the private hospitals have started telemedicine via WhatsApp, services over telephone and online clinic with live consultation using Facebook page.

In order to ensure the safety of the citizens, the doctors in Yenepoya Medical College Hospital have come forward to offer their services over telephone. This will help avoid unnecessary travel to the hospital and people who are ill may take initial consultation over the telephone.

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Justice KS Hegde Charitable Hospital has started the telemedicine clinic. Patients need to provide symptoms of their disease through WhatsApp to the doctors concerned.

They also have to provide their name, age, sex, weight, information about the disease, and copies of earlier prescriptions if any. After going through the details, the doctors will call the patients over phone if found necessary. Otherwise, they will either prescribe the medicines or give their opinion. Their observations are recorded in a slip containing the doctor's registration number, which is sent to the WhatsApp number of the patients, who can then purchase medicines from a nearby medical store.

Dr Padmanabha Kamath, Interventional Cardiologist and HoD, Cardiology Department, KMC Hospital, Mangaluru said “we have decided to start an online clinic with live consultation using the Facebook page.