In a recent survey on the use of telemedicine amidst the coronavirus pandemic, a whopping 70 per cent agreed that telemedicine is going to be the future of healthcare in India.
Tattvan E-clinics, a telemedicine healthcare clinic, has released some insights about how far this form of medical consultation has been adopted.
The survey saw maximum participation by the millennials. About 53.2 per cent of these were females of all age-groups.
The survey report revealed that media coverage of the recent spurt in e-clinics has bode well for virtual medical consultations. About 35 per cent became aware of telemedicine through this medium.
A close second, at 31 per cent, were those who came to know about it from their family and friends.
The survey said there is a consensus that telemedicine is going to be here for a long haul. The majority of participants admitted to using telemedicine at least 2-3 times in the past four-five months. About 40 per cent of them said that they used telemedicine the most during the lockdown period.
Easy to book appointments
About 60 per cent of respondents said they found it relatively easy to book an appointment online for a virtual consultation, especially amidst social distancing protocols.
Ayush Mishra, CEO, Tattvan E-clinics, said in an official statement: “The pandemic has forced people to stay at home and cancel all traditional medical appointments... This resulted in an emerging opportunity to implement new technologies and strategies as the field embarked on a new frontier of healthcare.”
He added: “As per the survey, around 70 per cent agreed that tele-health consultations are going to be the new normal for the healthcare sector in India. It is still complicated due to the barriers like education, innovations, language, etc, but the landscape of telemedicine could continue to change, to the betterment of physicians and patients alike.”
Commenting on the survey, Anmol Arora, CEO, Docvita, said in a statement: “In India, virtual consultations are currently picking up because of the safety they bring to both patients and providers from getting infected.”
He added: “At DocVita, consultation requests have been growing 2x every month, and 2 per cent of our users have been inviting others to join the platform. While we expect to keep up with the growth in the coming months, we anticipate the emergence of telemedicine as the new normal as people become acquainted with online healthcare services.”