Considering the current situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Save the Children in Bangladesh has started piloting a free telemedicine consultation service.
The matter was confirmed by a press release signed by Shararat Islam, senior manager (communications and media) of the organization.
Telemedicine is the exchange of medical information from one location to another using electronic communication.
According to the press release, the telemedicine service will be initially provided under the organization’s ‘Emergency Response for COVID-19 Outbreak in Bangladesh’ project, in partnership with ‘Hello Doctor Asia’ for the next two months as a pilot initiative.
Any individual can receive the video-medical consultation service through the ‘Hello Doctor Asia’ mobile app and the organization has plans to extend the service based on the context.
Dr. Shamim Jahan, deputy country director of Save the Children in Bangladesh, said: “Due to the Covid-19 situation, getting medical consultation has become quite difficult. It is nearly impossible for chronic patients and patients with general health conditions like fever, cough, and asthma to receive medical advice in many areas.”
“Telemedicine has become a suitable tool for providing medical consultation service globally. In Bangladesh, Shastho Batayan is becoming popular by providing tele-consultation to patients,” he added.
“We have started a further advanced app based service to talk to the doctors through video calls in a limited scale. We look forward to seeing the service’s effectiveness and reach and hope to expand the service for the hardest to reach communities,” he commented.
Md Mostak Hussain, the humanitarian director of the organization, said: “We have to continue the healthcare services with the support of innovative technologies. In addition to emergency health needs, there will also be a growing demand for online consultation for general health issues.”
“With this initiative, the scope for online video consultation has become more accessible,” he remarked.
Md Fakhrul Hasan, the chief operating officer of Hello Doctor Asia, said they are very thankful to Save the Children as this is a time demanding initiative and many people will be able to receive free telemedicine consultation service because of this joint endeavour.
The ‘Hello Doctor Asia’ mobile app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. Moreover, the government hotline 16263 is available for any Covid-19 related information.