A smartphone based e-Consult in addiction medicine: An initiative in COVID lockdown

Abstract

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Mental health research in the lower-middle-income countries of Africa and Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review

“…During the lockdown period, the Centre for Addiction Medicine, NIMHANS, started the e-Consultation portal with their trained staff and addiction specialists. This program responded to consults in less than 24 hours and provided prompt guidance, contingency plan, and focussed psychoeducation ( Ganesh, Sahu, Nair, & Chand, 2020 ). The Drug E-addiction and Treatment Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh re-strategized their existing Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) for patients with opioid dependence, ensuring access to services in these challenging times.…”

Drug use treatment during COVID-19 pandemic: community-based services in Nigeria

“…In Ireland, medications are delivered to client's homes to ensure access to OST during COVID-19, while in Luxemburg, medications are prescribed by a doctor who visits patients in their homes thrice a week (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2020b). India released guidelines on telemedicine on March 25, 2020 (Governors, Board Medical Council of India, 2020) and adopted electronic consultation (e-consult), an online platform that enhances referral for treatment between healthcare providers and substance use treatment providers (Ganesh et al, 2020;Vimalananda et al, 2015). Provision of treatment for SUDs during COVID-19, including implementing online and telephone-mediated services in lowincome countries like Nigeria is constrained by limited resources.…”

Drug consumption during prolonged lockdown due to Covid-19 as observed in French addiction center

“…Regarding tobacco and alcohol, accessibility to these products during the lockdown was not different. Unlike in India [5] , sales continued and the French were able to buy them freely in stores. The tendency to increase consumption can therefore be understood with a very anxiety-provoking period and inactivity [6] .…”