With the COVID-19 outbreak changing the world’s lifestyle, we are progressing towards a “phygital” era, where technology will play a crucial role. In fact, technology is the key to a wide range of industries worldwide sustaining themselves amid the prolonged lockdown necessitated by the Coronavirus pandemic. And the healthcare sector is no different. Given the infectious nature of the virus and the need for social distancing, there has been growing concern about the management of diseases unrelated to COVID-19. Hence, the medical world has turned to telemedicine to reach out to patients.

Telemedicine, also known as remote healthcare and medicinal services, has a wide array of utilisation in various cases and application zones. In the present scenario of the Coronavirus spreading through contact, this technology is a boon. It should be optimally utilised so as to have the option to keep clinical staff, patients, and the bigger open forum from getting contaminated. With many healthcare start-ups burgeoning in the country, telemedicine has an extremely promising future. According to a study by Data Labs, the telemedicine market in India is expected to reach $5.4 billion by 2025 with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 31 per cent. In fact, in March, telemedicine guidelines were issued by the Centre, which provided a lot of clarity and set the standards for telemedicine in India.

In the context of the Coronavirus, the term “flatten the curve” has been making the rounds. What it essentially means is to curb the disease as much as possible so as to avoid putting a strain on hospital services as the number of beds in the country is not enough. The health emergency caused by the Coronavirus led to a state of alarm in the country and consequently, substantial changes were needed to reorganise Indian healthcare services, particularly for patients suffering from heart disease. Hence, it was thought prudent to use that branch of telemedicine which is especially meant to meet the needs of cardiac patients: Telecardiology.

In order to ensure continuity of quality healthcare for patients with heart disease, it is important to differentiate between deferrable and non-deferrable activity with specific objectives. At most hospitals in the country, this has meant that most scheduled activities were postponed. In such a scenario, even though in its nascent stages, telecardiology has played a crucial rule. While it ensures that patients with cardiac diseases get the treatment and diagnosis they need, it additionally adds to keeping clinic limits and avoiding unnecessary visits.Telecardiology aims to monitor patients in real time for irregularities and offer remote diagnosis. This technology will be useful for treatment of heart diseases such as congestive heart failure, cardiac arrest and arrhythmia. It guarantees continuity of care and also raises a red flag for alarming patterns in vitals such as blood pressure, oxygen levels or heart beat per minute.

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John Mathews
Journal Manager
Current Trends in Cardiology
Email: cardiologyres@eclinicalsci.com