The ongoing coronavirus shutdown has led people, especially women, to switch to telemedicine apps. According to the data compiled by Practo, an independent medical website, online queries for Gynaecology on Practo’s telemedicine platform grew by more than 250 per cent since the coronavirus outbreak.

Practo also revealed that one in every three consults came from women since the coronavirus outbreak is for Gynecology-related issues, while most of those came from people in the age group of 21-30, followed by the age group of 31 to 40. There has been a significant rise in the number of women aged 60 and above consulting Gynaecologists online.

Among women, gynaecology was the most consulted health issue, with 50% of the consults coming from tier 1 and the other 50% from tier 2+ cities in the last few weeks. Top metro cities where most of the queries related to gynaecology came, were from Bangalore, followed by Delhi NCR, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Among the metropolis, Delhi witnessed a growth of 350 per cent in the number of people accessing the medical app of Practo.

Experts in Practo have indicated that a lot of women have been reaching out to them with queries like unanticipated irregularity in periods and how expectant mothers can have a safe pregnancy, among others. Top queries discussed were problems related to menstruation, pregnancy complications during coronavirus, birth control techniques, and miscarriages.

Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Healthcare Strategy Officer, Practo, said, “Telemedicine is making a very positive contribution to healthcare during the pandemic, and is being used by the people not just for coronavirus related queries but also for other medical conditions.”

He added: “This helps them receive proper medical care from their homes without having to visit hospitals and thereby minimizing their risk of contracting the virus. Telemedicine ensures that doctors are available 24*7 for people so that they receive timely medical attention. We are helping more and more doctors to help consult their patients online, also ensuring there is no disruption in access to quality healthcare for patients.”

Dr Vanita Vaishnav, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Bangalore, said, “Telemedicine allows people to reach out to the doctors whenever they are in need of medical advice while maintaining social distancing. We have been receiving a lot of queries online in the last few days owing to increased awareness of telemedicine amidst the Covid-19 crisis and lockdown.”

She mentioned that digital platforms provide a great opportunity for people, especially women to seek medical assistance from specialized doctors by empowering them with the right information, and easy access to quality healthcare. “In difficult times like these, digital healthcare has played a significant role in improving the overall experience of the patients in terms of accessibility, quality, convenience, and especially trust,” she added further.

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