With the current pandemic affecting almost all sectors in the country, healthcare is one that is definitely under a severe load. With the demand for medical services going through the roof, there aren’t enough resources to accommodate those who have health problems and require treatment. For instance, as of June 2020, both Mumbai and Delhi have been facing a massive shortage of hospitals beds to accommodate patients. What’s more, prior to the current pandemic, India had only 0.5 beds per 1,000 individuals. Thus, alternative approaches need to be employed in order to ensure that those who require medical care can get access to treatment. This is where telemedicine services come into play.
Even as a relatively new provision in India, telemedicine has support from the government. In 2015, the Social Endeavour for Health and Telemedicine (SEHAT) initiative was put in place to ensure healthcare services for all. As telemedicine is likely to become an increasingly common method of availing healthcare, here’s all you need to know to make the most of telemedicine for health issues in India.
What is telemedicine?
Telemedicine is a subset of telehealth through which healthcare is delivered through telecommunication. The patient is evaluated, diagnosed and treated remotely and without any physical contact whatsoever. Doctors offer this e-consultation service to patients using technology with internet at its core. With telemedicine, you can consult specialists anywhere in the world and you can do so via call, chat, email or video. This exchange can happen in real time, which is where video or call stands out the best, or via email correspondence for asynchronous telemedicine care.
How is telemedicine different from a regular doctor’s appointment?
Consider the below steps undertaken during a regular doctor’s appointment in comparison with telemedicine to understand the difference-
- Searching for doctors: You begin with identifying the specialist(s), which in an offline scenario, is typically through word of mouth or recommendations from family and friends.
With telemedicine, you have access to dedicated online platforms that allow you to search for doctors and their clinics based on speciality and location. This way, you have access to numerous options in just a matter of seconds.
- Booking the appointment: Without digital provisions, you usually make appointments either over the phone or by visiting the clinic to get a slot. However with telemedicine, you can book an appointment digitally from the comfort of your home via a smartphone or laptop.
- Getting tested: Based on the preliminary diagnosis, doctors may require you to undergo tests and collect the reports. In both cases, you will have to make a physical visit. But with telemedicine, you have the advantage of finding the nearest labs with available slots, at the click of a button. Furthermore, with recent improvement in diagnostic care, you may be able to book simple tests like blood tests at home and stool or urine tests via home pickup.
- Consultation based on test results: For a regular consultation, once you receive the test results, the next step is to make yet another physical visit to the clinic for an appointment. This is both time consuming and can pose quite a problem, especially in the current pandemic when you may not want to step out of your home. However, with telemedicine, certain platforms allow you to send over digital patient records to specialists and get diagnosed online.
- Getting and filling prescriptions: In case of a regular consultation, based on the diagnosis and if it requires medication, you will have to fill out a prescription. With telemedicine, you can get an e-prescription at any time, thus ensuring you don’t have to visit the clinic again should you need a new one.
See the steps involved in this table to further understand the differences.
Regular steps involved in visiting a doctor |
Steps involved in telemedicine using digital medical provisions |
Search offline
|
Search online |
Choose a doctor based on recommendations of family and friends
|
Choose a doctor based on online reviews, speciality and location |
Call or visit clinic to book an appointment
|
Book an appointment instantly online |
Visit the doctor in person
|
Schedule an e-consultation |
Visit a path lab in person
|
Book an appointment at path lab online |
Collect report in person
|
Get a digital report |
Visit the doctor in person again to submit reports
|
Submit digital report to your doctor |
Visit pharmacy for medicines in person
|
Visit pharmacy or order medicines online |
What are the common treatments that can be availed with telemedicine?
Given the advantage that telemedicine offers to both patient and doctors, its application is limitless. However, to help you better understand its value in today’s scenario, here are a few treatments you can avail with telemedicine.
- Telepsychiatry
- Teledermatology
- Teleradiology
- Telepathology
- Teleoncology
- Teleobstetrics
- Telenephrology
- Teleopthamology
- Telerehabilitation
What are the common concerns with telemedicine[2] ?
Even though telemedicine is loaded with benefits, there are a few concerns that you should be aware of. They are as follows:
- Miscommunication due to low-grade equipment
- Insurance policy coverage for telehealth implementations
- Lack of connectivity, especially in remote areas
- Physician burnout due to the lack of in-person consults
All of these are very real concerns, but the benefits far outweigh these, especially given the positive impact telemedicine can have in your life.
How to avail telemedicine with the Bajaj Finserv Digital Health EMI Network Card?
As telemedicine services are completely online, you need to have a financing solution in place that allows you to avail its digital features without any hassles. This is where the health card by Bajaj Finserv comes into play. With it, you get access to a sizable pre-approved limit of up to Rs.4 lakh, which you can then use to avail any telemedicine services you need. What’s more, you can split the cost of medical bills into easy No Cost EMIs and repay the amount over a flexible tenor ranging up to 24 months.
With this health card, you have access to over 800 treatments for health issues across 5,000+ healthcare partners spread over 1,000 cities in India. You can use it not only yourself but to avail medical care for your family as well. To add to that, you can also avail offers on telemedicine services to make it easier on your wallet. They are as follows.
Partner Name |
Category |
Offer |
Offer valid till |
Skin City |
Hair restoration and cosmetic surgery |
20% off on cosmetic procedures + free online consultation |
30-09-2020 |
Apollo 24|7 |
Multispeciality hospital |
Rs. 150 off on tele-consultation booking worth up to Rs 1000. Use Code BAJAJ150 Rs. 247 off on tele-consultation booking worth above Rs 1000. Use code: BAJAJ247 |
31-10-2020 |
To take advantage of telemedicine and utilise the benefits of the Digital Health EMI Network Card, get it now and make healthcare one less thing to worry about!