Hyderabad: Telemedicine services, a boon or bane for doctors?

Hyderabad: After the lockdown that was announced by the state and the central government, telemedicine or e-consulting services has seen a rise in people opting it to consult doctors. Since, this has turned out to be a boon for many, the doctors on the other side find it difficult to diagnose the patients with chronic problems.

However, doctors believe that in order to diagnose a patient it is necessary to have a physical presence or one-on-one interaction with the patient to understand their problems.

Dr Govardhan, a General Physician, Care Hospital, Nampally said, "The first drawback of the tele-medicines is that one cannot examine the patient. However one has to sustain the diagnosis and symptoms. Telemedicine has its own pros and cons as doctors have to check them by one-one-one presence to understand the problem, as it is not possible as of now it is a big challenge for us doctors to listen to the patients descriptions and diagnose. It totally depends on the way the patient tells his problem and sometimes it can be misinterpreted which may be risky for the patients hence we as doctors have to be extra careful while diagnosing."

Dr Navoday Gilla, Consultant Physician, Internal Medicine, Care Hospital, Banjara Hills said, "Telemedicine services is beneficial for those suffering problems like Blood Pressure and Diabetes unless the patient has a testing kit available with them. For chronic problems or diseases telemedicine are beneficial for routine check-ups and incase of any medicine changes. Incase the patient needs emergency attention we ask them to come to hospital and don't be dependent on Telemedicine service."

Dr Vanita Gupta, a Gynaecologist said, "Face to face talking brings a more positive impact on the patient than over any other means of communication. We cannot measure the BP, check their weight, and clinical examination cannot be done. The people who are in emergency we ask them to go to the nearby hospitals. I receive queries regarding the schedule check-ups, medicines that they have to take during various periods of pregnancy and suggestions regarding how to deal with the complications during pregnancy."