Providing Smart Phone Based Health Care Service In Resource Limited Areas of Northern India During Covid 19 Pandemic.

ONLINE COVID CARE – INNOVATIVE DIGITAL MEDICINE

Abstract

                  The corona virus pandemic known as COVID-19 which started from Wuhan province of china in December 2019, has rapidly engulfed whole world and is posing a public health challenge. It has impacted the regional economies immensely by putting the tremendous strain on the health care resources [1]. The obscure modes of spread and complication profile created initially ensured stigmatization of the disease which restricted the provision of conventional bedside healthcare services. Since the aerosols and close contact with the patient was considered as major contributing factor in spread, the need to change the conventional approach of managing such patients and handling them on day to day basis was increasingly felt by the medical professionals everywhere. [2]

                With more and more healthcare workers getting infected and hospital based care being cited as a predominant source of pandemic spread if not handled properly, the novel, alternative and innovative means and ways of management in Covid 19 were soon to become the order of the day. The adaptation up gradation and provision of healthcare by utilizing people friendly, accessible and easily available digital technology has been one of the success stories in preventing spread of pandemic and providing optimal care to these patients in our region. Digital covid Care has been a major introduction in short span of time which has contributed significantly in handling the pandemic effectively till date. [3]

              Digital healthcare solutions have provided timely management of the patients in remotest areas and simultaneously ensured the much needed optimal support to the resource limited health sector of our region by decreasing the footfall in hospital causality, lowering the admissions and hence reducing the bed occupancy in the high dependency and ICU care facilities.[4]

              This  easily accessible free of cost initiative by a group of doctors named as COVID CLINICS works voluntarily with no added financial burden to the patient, healthcare  system and the state exchequer.  This group which utilizes digital technology in form of social media, smart phone technology and Audio visual access to trace on time, triage and manage covid 19 patients by utilizing virtual digital platforms in the forms of social media, telemedicine and smart phone applications in the resource limited region of northern India is surely turning out to be a game changer in covid care ; hence proving  that the scope of such novel initiatives in dealing with all emerging health care challenges cannot be underestimated.[5]