COVID -19 has entirely changed the world and stopped people from their daily routines. Yes, 2020 was horrible in terms of social distancing and health issues. The patients were not able to consult their doctors regularly for treatments. Even hospitals were closed due to the corona spread.
During the time, many patients suffered from their illness with no proper consultation and treatment. When this situation was worsening, Doctors started using mobile technologies like WhatsApp, Google meets Skype, Camera Audio, and Video consultation.
Even blood tests were taken at home for patients’ convenience. Yes, patients accessed hospitals only for surgeries, scans, and other instrumental checkups. We will see elaborately about the consultation and treatment of the patients now and then.
Many hospitals across various countries including India started online doctor consultation services due to this unprecedented public health emergency. Online doctor consultation India ensures all doctors were available 24/7 for attending to all types of cases through virtual consultations. Among regular patients, many people called up to the doctor for COVID symptoms analysis.
Many of them recovered in the initial stage itself by quarantining. All General physicians and Pulmonologists attended many COVID cases through an online consultation to know about their general symptoms and lungs function.
Why do we choose online consultation?
Need not travel – One of the major benefits of online doctor consultation is you need not travel too far off places. You need not wait for any transport or need not get ready to meet him. Just you are there in front of your mobile or system at the scheduled time.
For immobile patients, an online consultation is a good option. Sometimes you may not find anyone to accompany you. Hence, this n online consultation is the best option for aged, living alone people, and physically challenged too in a great way.
Calm and convenient – Sometimes you may fall sick in the middle of the night or in the early hours of the morning. Generally, when you rush up to the clinic or hospital at such crucial times, your doctor may or may not be available.
But, online doctor consultation is available round the clock. Sometimes you may be busy with your work and not be able to meet your doctor personally. Herein a virtual consultation helps you a lot. Thus, you can get a convenient online consultation without messing up your routine.
Avoid catching infection – When you visit a hospital or clinic, you are surrounded by many sick people.
It leads you to a great risk of catching any infection. Sometimes you may need to wait in his room for long hours which could make you vulnerable to contagious diseases. The virtual consultation does not bring all such problems to you.
If you have a weak immune system, better avoid crowded places and go for online consultation.
Easy to access specialists – Many hospitals increased the options of accessing specialists thru online consultation. Patients who need specialist care need not drive for long and wait in a long queue. Such virtual consultations make it viable to access specialists who are far away from you.
Privacy & Security – Most of us do not feel comfortable speaking to doctors in person. Sometimes, you may have a problem in certain private areas of your body. Showing the affected private area seems embarrassing sometimes.
And, you may want to keep the conversation secret. In such cases, virtual doctor consultation is quite helpful. During online doctor consultation, you and your doctor only are sharing the screen and strictly nobody else.
Your private information cannot be heard and leaked out. Your personal information remains safe between the two of you.
For a second opinion – In an online doctor consultation, getting a second opinion is easy. If you are not satisfied with a physical visit, you may consider a second opinion with another doctor. You can have different treatments and ideas from two different doctors.
You can analyze better by comparing two doctors. Whichever you feel better and adaptable, you can continue it.
Nowadays, model digitization brought many hospitals to design their app. So, online doctor consultation has turned quite easy for the regular patients of their respective hospitals.
They just download the app from the Play Store, install and make their appointments online. Every day this app is followed up by doctors’ secretaries. They schedule the respective doctors’ appointments; remind doctors and patients by phone.
So, nowadays, consulting a doctor has become quite easy and convenient. Once the consultation is over, an e-prescription is sent and filled for their reference.
Some hospitals provide a free follow-up within a week or two. While consulting thru video calls, patients become stress-free by seeing and talking to their doctors as to how it happens during physical visits.
Online doctor consultation works the best for generic medicines, psychiatry, nutrition and dietetics, counseling, yoga, neurology and is available for all branches say Gynecology & Obstetrics, Infertility, etc.
Take away
In a nutshell, online consultations have some limitations that should be kept in mind.
If a patient is advised to have a physical visit with a doctor, he should consult him in person. If your treatment does not involve any surgery or clinical examination, then it is great to pick a virtual consultation option, especially till the pandemic gets over.