In Australia, it’s estimated that 1.7 million people are living with type 2 diabetes (T2D). It’s one of the greatest threats to our health system and shows no signs of slowing down. The George Institute for Global Health invited Dr James Muecke, 2020 Australian of the Year to comment.
Virtual Round Table 1: User Centered Virtual Care – Voice of Users
The George Institute for Global Health, India is organizing a series of online policy roundtable consultations on telehealth & virtual care for patients with chronic conditions. These consultations will bring together experts representing key stakeholders across the entire ecosystem to discuss unmet needs, user expectations, identify barriers and enablers towards a sustainable telehealth ecosystem. The consultations are aimed at development of a policy brief on “Safe, Effective & Comprehensive Use of Telemedicine” with a focus on chronic conditions, the policy brief will support the implementation and scale up of telemedicine in India and other low- and middle-income country settings.
The key thematic areas for the Virtual Round Table Series on “Safe, Effective & Comprehensive Use of Telemedicine” are
User Centred Virtual Care: Users' perspectives from leading doctors, healthcare ecosystem and voice of patients
Technology as an enabler for improving outcomes in chronic diseases: Current and emerging technologies to support continuum of care – Risks and Benefits
Creating an enabling environment for telehealth ecosystem: Role of the Government, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH), Medical Council of India (MCI), Insurance regulators & Investors
This session explores perspectives from a number of users; doctors, hospital administrators and patients. This discussion will culminate into a development of a policy brief on “Promoting Safe, Effective & Comprehensive Use of Telemedicine” with a focus on chronic conditions. The policy brief will support the implementation and scale up of telemedicine in India and other low-and middle-income country settings.
Prof Vivekanand Jha: Executive Director George Institute – Setting the context
Discussants:
Dr. Ravi Wankhedkar: National President IMA, 2018
Ms. Aparna Mittal: Co-founder and CEO at PatientsEngage
Dr. K. Ravindranath: Chairman, Gleneagles Global Hospitals Group
Ms. Ashna Ashesh: Patient Advocate, Survivors Against TB, Lawyer and Public Health Professional
Dr. Shenoy Robinson: Healthcare Industry thought leader, Chairperson CII Technical Committee on Health
Dr. Oommen John: Senior Research Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health, India
As the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted delivery of routine healthcare delivery services, the Board of Governors (BoG) of the Medical Council of India (MCI) released of Telemedicine Practice guidelines. The challenges posed by the pandemic and unmet need of health services delivery due to the lock down has generated tremendous interest in the practice of telemedicine. While telemedicine is an excellent and powerful tool for doctors & hospitals to extend care, there are several challenges that reliance on technology alone could pose in the long-term sustainability and scale up of such approaches. The users' perspectives need focused attention in order to improve clinical outcomes and enhance patient satisfaction especially for those with chronic conditions, NCDs (Non-Communicable Diseases).
As is the case with all technological tools, telemedicine needs to be comprehensive and practiced safely, ethically and in the best interest of the patient. It is important for all stakeholders to understand the clinical, technology & legal aspects. The policy brief aims to address these critical aspects to create an enabling environment to leverage the best of telemedicine.
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