Telemedicine to be main way to contact doctor during pandemic

During the pandemic, telemedicine became an alternative to traditional visits to the office. Experts indicate that especially heart and lung diseases, diabetes, cancer, and neurological diseases require rapid diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring by a doctor, and a teleportation is a good tool for the initial assessment of the patient's health. In September this year, patients' organizations initiated the ‘Research and Treat’ campaign, which is to raise the health vigilance of Poles related to chronic diseases, educate them and show them how to conduct a remote visit and how to prepare for it.

Putting health care in a state of emergency and focusing on the fight against COVID-19 have reduced the possibilities of caring for patients with other diseases. In a crisis situation, teleporting is an alternative for patients requiring consultation or continuation of treatment of chronic diseases.

“The pandemic has changed the way healthcare works. People who are chronically ill have undoubtedly experienced and are still experiencing various problems that are associated with poorer access to health care, and possibly with concerns for their own health and safety. A novelty that has developed on a large scale with the onset of the pandemic in health care is teleporting,” Dr. Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas, national consultant in the field of family medicine and president of the Polish Society of Family Medicine, said.

In August, the ordinance of the Minister of Health on the organizational standard of teleporting in primary health care entered into force. It contains standards and guidelines for GPs regarding the provision of teleportation, specifying, inter alia, the method of patient registration, forms of remote counseling, or issues related to the organization of work. In accordance with the regulation, teleportation is provided, among others in the form of telephone advice, video calls, and in justified cases also by e-mail. It is provided by a doctor, nurse, or midwife within the scope of their competence, and the clinic should inform the clinic about the possibility and method of carrying out such a remote visit.

(Newseria)