Country-wide lockdown and social distancing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have forced many health care providers to conduct consultations with patients through telemedicine – offering medical and mental health care using the telecommunications technology and internet. People who were hesitant about wanting to try telemedicine before are left with no option but to get a crash course in how it functions. Even those, both patients and service providers, who may not have been exposed to smartphones and computers are adapting faster and better than usual.

Why it matters

Let’s face the reality – though more and more providers and patients are taking advantage of remote consultations and other virtual care options, the traditional, in person, face to face doctor-patient visits are still preferred by many. Interestingly, India has recorded to have a 25-billion-dollar worth market of virtual healthcare that is capable to cater to a range of medical specialties including Dentistry, GPs, Orthopaedics, ENT, Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Paediatrics, Physiotherapy, Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Cardiology, Psychiatry, Dermatology, General Surgery, Stomach and Digestion, Diabetes and Endocrinology, Neurology, and Cancer. As the new facts of staffing challenges and value-based care is becoming apparent, healthcare organizations have begun realizing the importance of telehealth. Nine out of 10, in fact, are piloting or offering telehealth programs to disrupt the care delivery paradigm. The good news is, the pandemic has pushed online consultation for healthcare by 500 percent, starting March to May 2020, as per a study by online portal Practo. During these two months, over five crore Indians accessed healthcare virtually with an average frequency of two consultations per month.

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, telemedicine was restricted in terms of use since medicare had more stringent guidelines on when it could be accessed for patients particularly older than 65. But, as cases have surged in India, the rules have changed and more patients are being encouraged to seek medical advice from their doctors without visiting a hospital or clinic. Moreover, many health care providers have even begun offering e-visits, in which, those at the receiving end of the treatment use a secured part of their provider’s site to submit a questionnaire about their symptoms. This way, the doctors are able to get back to such patients on short notice, with a treatment plan and prescription, if need be.

Novices give modern practices a try

On a brighter side of things, more and more patients are trusting and accepting remote care technology. This seems helpful because telehealth is here to stay – and commitments to make further onsets as the realities of value-based compensation make its many rewards too hard to ignore. Take, for instance, even a patient as old as 70, battling several chronic conditions, from a spinal issue to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, can skip the challenging and risky trip to the doctor’s office by embracing technology. Likewise, a little child from a rural area with a severe eye infection who needs to visit a specialist sited in the city, hundreds of kilometres away, can consult the same doctor online, and upon consultation, the expert can suggest medication and postponement of visit dates, depending on the urgency of the case. Not only that, owing to the rise in mental health cases has pushed both psychiatrists as well as patients to use telemedicine for follow-up appointments or psychotherapy sessions.

The larger trend

The situation has demanded doctors, clinics, and hospital networks to reconsider how the technology can be utilized, to keep the anxious calm and away from clinical care whilst navigating the most at risk to the rightful treatment. Having said that, a pressure-giving scenario as this has also underscored the need for medical professionals to seek understanding of online professionalism, digital marketing, and social media responsibilities and etiquette in order to avoid chaos, confusion, or carelessness.

Plus, logically thinking, having a better and stronger digital presence will prove to be beneficial for the medical professionals in terms of connecting with patients who seeking virtual assistance. Imagine not being found in the search results of a patient who needs an online consultation on an urgent basis? Here’s when medical digital marketing comes into play wherein, through SEO strategies, with the help of relevant content and keywords, professionals can improve their visibility and reach. In the present-day competitive industry, SEO and SEM is no longer a luxury; rather a necessity. For those patients who rely on testimonials or recommendations of friends for shortlisting doctors, medical digital marketing can influence how they can be reached in turn!

Catching up pace

Healthcare systems are racing to develop and adapt virtual services that can aid as their front line for those in need. Medical organizations and individual practitioners understand this is an all hands-on deck moment, and that, they need to scale up wherever and however they can. And though, in the pre-COVID era telemedicine was just viewed as a tool to bridge the convenience gap, the potential, and its capabilities are being realized now. After all, the value of telemedicine is not simply restricted to preventive advice and promotion of wellness but also the diagnosis of primary care issues, follow-ups for chronic conditions, rehabilitation programs, and psychological counselling for stress management and other conditions. Evidently, the matter of the fact remains that telehealth technologies are already improving and will continue to advance both access and outcomes!