Telehealth and COVID-19: Using technology to accelerate the curve on access and quality healthcare for citizens in India

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic has reinstated the importance of telehealth as a business model for accelerating the accessibility of healthcare and improving the quality of healthcare for citizens of a country. Telehealth service has a tremendous potential in a developing country like India where the healthcare facilities in India are heavily concentrated in urban cities while their majority (67%) of the population resides in rural areas. At the same time, a high teledensity of almost 90% supports telehealth overall reach. However, the growth of telehealth in India till now has been sluggish but the corona virus (COVID-19) crisis has redefined the telehealth ecosystem by reducing the risk of infection through person-to-person contact. In this study, we explore the perception of healthcare users towards telehealth services and analyze the key enablers for the telehealth services in the current scenario. We collected data from 1170 participants through personal interview. The results of the study shows a considerable segment of the population is having high healthcare need, have aspirations for accessing better healthcare for themselves and their family members and use ICT to a significant extent. At the same time, they have positive attitude towards telehealth and socio-demographic factors like age, geographical location, educational qualification, family size affects the attitude towards telehealth services. The results of the study shows there is a significant market for telehealth services in India to be explored by the technology firms, hospitals and other healthcare stakeholders and going forward it has an enormous capability to transform the complete healthcare ecosystem, especially in developing countries like India post the COVID-19 crisis.

Knowledge and attitude of Saudi Arabian citizens towards telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…However, studies in China 37 , 38 and Russia 39 , 40 have identified increasing adoption of telemedicine applications among their citizens; however, there are a few issues, including ineffective legal regulations and a lack of transparency and privacy, that are affecting the adoption of telemedicine in these countries. Similarly, India 42 , 43 and Brazil 41 are also expanding the adoption of telemedicine solutions, but remoteness and a lack of access to technology are affecting the adoption of telemedicine while an ever-increasing prevalence of chronic, lifestyle and long-term illnesses is increasing the demand for telemedicine in these countries. Comparing the results from Saudi Arabia, it is clear that security concerns such as privacy are one of the major obstacles identified in the implementation of telemedicine, similar to India, while positive attitudes towards telemedicine were identified among participants, similar to the BRICS nations.…”

Changes in the Comprehensiveness of Rural Medical Care for Older Japanese Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In addition, ICT usage is beneficial for increasing the scope and availability of medical services; our findings indicate that it might be practical in rural areas. Many medical facilities in urban areas have started using ICT to communicate with distant patients [35,36]. Metropolitan areas and hospitals might be best suited to use ICT to effectively prevent infections [37,38].…”

Applied Artificial Intelligence and user satisfaction: Smartwatch usage for healthcare in Bangladesh during COVID-19

“…These people are aware of health issues [ 17 ] and are interdependent [ 37 ]. As more developing countries are adopting various telehealth platforms to administer healthcare [ 38 ], Bangladeshis are following suit. As a result, a significant portion of the population has adopted smartwatches to monitor their health.…”