Telemedicine during COVID-19: India embracing the change

Telemedicine has been around for decades but it has taken foreground in health services recently. When COVID-19 cases started to be reported in the country it brought with itself panic and chaos. At all India level, the adult literacy rate is 77.7%, this could also be linked to unawareness related to the disease in rural areas. The sudden countrywide lockdown imposed was of no help and further worsened the situation for economically weaker section of the society. During the struggle of our nation to overcome the COVID-19 Telemedicine has indeed played a vital role. People in fear of contacting the disease and due to nationwide lockdown were unable to reach their health care provider. People with pre-existing conditions that needs regular monitoring, pregnancy related queries, queries on new symptoms, psychological counselling and many more could not wait for the COVID-19 to be over before they get any help on the issues.­­ Telemedicine shall continue developing and be used in a multitude of settings by more health-care doctors and patients, and these standards of practice will be a crucial driver within this evolution.