Digital technologies are electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that generate, store or process data. Well known examples include social media, online games, multimedia and mobile phones. Digital learning is any type of learning that uses technology.

Effective and comprehensive Healthcare necessitates rapidly available, easily accessible specialised information and skills, across the geographical expanse. The present healthcare delivery scenario is rid with inequities of resources (human resources and finances). The utopian solution for all health-inequities would be to ensure optimum deployment and utilization of personnel and infrastructure. This is of course elusive due to the tremendous cost and the significant shortage of personnel and the high cost involved in delivery of healthcare. In such a situation, digital technology can work like a magic wand.

Healthcare is undergoing an obvious paradigm shift where technology is no longer an option but an eventuality if healthcare has to be made accessible to all at an affordable price and at the right time. There needs to be a universal awareness and acceptance that digitization is not an option but an essential necessity to democratize healthcare

In India, majority of the patients stay in rural areas and have very limited access to specialist medical opinion. Accessing specialist opinion involves the cost of traveling to and staying in major urban centers besides loss of rural productivity and income. These roadblocks often lead to lack of timely care which may result in further compromising health and escalating costs. In addition, the lack of guidance for specialist care and inadequate auditing/ transparency of such decision-making leads to frequent exploitation of patients. Most villagers have to thus reconcile to the limited knowledge of the local health professionals. Tele-medicine appears to be a solution which can hugely benefit patients if they are able to effectively access it. Digitizing healthcare is not an overnight phenomenon and requires a complete ‘re-engineering’ of the knowledge, skills and attitude of healthcare providers be it doctors, nurses, technicians, or other allied personnel. The need is to evolve solutions which are easily replicable not only for the health workers but can also be used by a large section of the patient population.
PyraMed : An Ideal Solution for Bridging the Healthcare Gaps and Making Healthcare Available to All

PyraMed Telemedicine is a robust Telemedicine Platform that helps patients along with their primary doctor (from a non-metro), jointly video-consult with a specialist (usually from a metro). The primary doctor is able to communicate the case details of the patient to the specialist and also assist the specialist with the physical examination of the patient, resulting in better diagnosis, reduced investigations, and improved quality of care.

Nowadays, digital tech is also enabling many point-of-care devices which are very popular in most urban and semi-urban areas, especially since the use of oximeters in this pandemic. These measurement devices which are available over the counter are able to perform simple tests and assessments at the most peripheral level. Digital temperature, BP, and oxygen saturation monitors are possibly the simplest examples whereas blood glucose monitors are a close ally. Whereas almost all this equipment can be used by anyone, however, a doctor is needed to ensure that the results are judiciously interpreted, and the relevant and prioritized symptoms are the ones highlighted to a specialist. Similarly random, uncontrolled and adhoc usage of specialized diagnostic services will lead to trivializing the usage of these services and also wastage of resources.

The presence and support of a primary doctor also facilitates high compliance and ensures continuity of care. The process adheres to the pyramidal healthcare concept, the model trusted in developed countries by making the primary doctor the foundation of patient care. An electronic health record generated by a compliant tele-consultation platform can be available to both doctors as well as the patient, improving collaboration and transparency. Telehealth must integrate, not fragment care. Telemedicine is a boon for the patients; not just during the Covid pandemic but it is a ‘practice’ which is here to stay.

By Dr. Ketan Parikh is a renowned pediatric surgeon and Founder, PyraMed Telemedicine

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