The World Health Organization (WHO) defines primary health care as “a whole-of-society approach to health and well-being centered on the needs and preferences of individuals, families, and communities.”
Therefore access to comprehensive, quality health care services in a timely manner is essential. As it promotes and maintains the prevention and management of disease, reducing events of unnecessary disability and premature death, and ultimately, achieving health equity for all in society.
The strain that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on healthcare systems everywhere has, in turn, affected many people’s primary care provision. Due to fears relating to the spread of the new coronavirus, healthcare providers around the world have been minimizing in-person contact with their patients.
It is therefore important for healthcare providers to adapt to solutions that can ensure that they are able to continue offering their services in case of any unforeseeable events. One such technology is telemedicine. Telemedicine refers to the practice of using telecommunications technology to evaluate, diagnose and care for patients at a distance.
Healthcare providers can leverage on cloud communication technology to offer such services, and create communication channels between a doctor and a patient through phone calls and SMS. Mteja offers a multi-channel cloud-based solution that allows businesses of any size to engage with their customers at scale. We enable over 100 businesses in 8 African markets to easily manage conversations over SMS and Calls channels. Our platform is equipped to assist healthcare providers to offer timely services over an easy to use communication system.
Five Ways Your Healthcare Institution can Utilize Using Mteja’s Offering.
Running a virtual healthcare service: Mteja can assist your organization to set up a virtual medicare service. Where patients can call in and be connected to doctors. Patients can also enquire on the services available, for example by texting the word services and get automated feedback instantly. They can also use the service to book appointments with a healthcare staff.
Offer a tele counselling service: This can be ideally suited for psychiatric services, cognitive behavioural therapy, and lifestyle coaching, including weight management and smoking cessation as it can offer privacy to the patients while accessing the service.
Remote Patient Monitoring: This can be extremely useful for the treatment of a number of chronic conditions. For example the doctor can monitor a diabetic patient via SMS, to track their glucose levels and send the data to their doctor.
Offer consultation services: The platform can enable patients to dial in and speak to specialists regarding health problems, which can be offered at a premium. It can also allow primary caregivers to be connected to specialists and collaborate productively on a given case, with or without the presence of the patient in the communications loop.
Set up a call center hotline: The platform can allow healthcare providers as well as other stakeholders in the industry a way to disseminate information regarding health issues. This can be extremely useful during a pandemic or natural disaster, where the information can be sent via calls or SMS.
According to research by Software Advice, 75% of survey respondents are interested in trying telemedicine. The benefits for a healthcare provider include;
Increased Revenue: A phone call or SMS communication are more efficient than in-person visits. This means that each provider can see more patients during the same period of time, and the capability of the provider being able to offer some services at a premium also creates channels of revenue.
Scheduling Flexibility: Mteja is accessible virtually anywhere, at any time. This gives practices the option to offer extended hours or even weekend operations without requiring the physical office to be staffed.
Fewer No-Shows and Last Minute Cancellations: The patient doesn’t have to make any additional adjustments to their daily routine in order to meet the appointment. By eliminating many of the factors that cause cancellations, doctors are able to be assured of the appointments.
Although the telemedicine has been around for decades in limited situations, it is now quickly becoming an important tool for convenient medical care in today’s world.
Talk to us at Mteja ( info@mteja.io) to find out how we can help your organization more convenient, accessible care for your patients.