ByIANSlife Features

April 25, 2020 (IANSlife) The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has triggered more-healthful behaviours among the people who need to consult doctors.

Even the smallest of health concerns instead of self-diagnosis and self-medication, people are choosing e-consultations and wisely so. While there are a lot of growing apprehensions around various health issues amidst Covid-19, more and more people, especially women are using telemedicine to get their doubts clarified by the experts.

Gynecology is among the top most consulted specialties on Practo Health as many routine gynecology and prenatal care appointments have transitioned to virtual visits. Gynaecologists who consult online have indicated that a lot of women have been reaching out to them with queries like unanticipated irregularity in periods and how expectant mothers can have a safe pregnancy, among the others.

According to the Practo Health Insights,

• One in every three consults that came from women since coronavirus outbreak are for Gynecology-related issues
• Most of the queries are coming from people in the age group of 21-30, followed by people in the age group of 31 to 40
• There has been a significant rise in the number of women aged 60 and above consulting Gynaecologists online
• 52 percent of all Gynaecology-related consults are from women, while 48 percent of the queries are from men, possibly for their spouse, women family members
• Gynecology was the most consulted speciality among women, with 50 percent of the consults coming from tier 1 and 50 percent from tier 2+ cities in the last few weeks
• Top metro cities where most of the queries related to Gynaecology came were from Bangalore, followed by Delhi NCR, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai
• Among the Metro cities, Delhi witnessed a growth of 350 percent 
• In tier 2 cities, most of the queries came from Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bhubaneshwar, and Mysore
• Top queries discussed were period problems, pregnancy complications during Coronavirus, birth control techniques, and miscarriage

Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Healthcare Strategy Officer, Practo, said, “Telemedicine is making a very positive contribution to healthcare during the pandemic, and is being used by the people not just for coronavirus related queries but also for other medical conditions. This helps them receive proper medical care from their homes without having to visit hospitals and thereby minimizing their risk of contracting the virus. Telemedicine ensures that doctors are available 24*7 for people so that they receive timely medical attention. We are helping more and more doctors to help consult their patients online, also ensuring there is no disruption in access to quality healthcare for patients.”

Dr Vanita Vaishnav, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Bangalore, said, “Telemedicine allows people to reach out to the doctors whenever they are in need of medical opinion or advice while maintaining social distancing. We have been receiving a lot of queries online in the last few days owing to increased awareness on telemedicine amidst the Covid-19 crisis and lockdown. Digital platforms like Practo provide an great opportunity for people, especially women to seek medical assistance from specialized doctors by empowering them with the right information, and easy access to quality healthcare. In difficult times like these, Digital healthcare has played a significant role in improving the overall experience of the patients in terms of accessibility, quality, convenience, and especially trust.”

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