By Chris Chukwu
One of the greatest lessons learnt with the emergence of covid-19 outbreak is to always be proactive and prepared.
It is crystal clear that act of maintaining a distance from one another is the greatest tools in fighting infectious disease.
Telehealth falls among the dramatic disease fighting tools China used in fighting the novel corona virus.
As new infectious diseases emerge we need novel approach in fighting them.
Telemedicine or health means “distance healing“.
According to WHO, Telemedicine is the delivery of healthcare services, where distance is a critical factor, by all healthcare professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation and for the continuing education of healthcare providers, all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals and their communities.
Telehealth is essentially a product of telecommunication and information technologies which permit communications between patient and healthcare provider with both convenience and fidelity.
Benefits of telehealth
- Access to specialized healthcare services to underserved rural, semi urban and remote areas
- Access to expertise of medical specialists.
- Early and improved detection of disease, diagnosis and better treatment management.
- Reduced visits to the hospital
- Reduced travel expenses
- Reduced hospital acquired infections
- Reduced burden of morbidity
- Access to computerized comprehensive data of patients, both offline and real time
We need our law makers to set the ball rolling by implementing this act in order to save the lives of Nigerians.
Let us continue to stay safe by following the appropriate precautionary measures provided by NCDC.
My name is Chris Chukwu, I just want to make Healthy Sense
