Medical consultation over telephone gets government’s nod

NEW DELHI: The government has formally allowed people to get a medical consultation from a doctor over a telephone or a video call, issuing a notification late on Wednesday for a move that had been in the pipeline for years but was expedited in wake of the Covid-19 outbreak that has triggered a three-week national lockdown.

According to the notification, the Medical Council of Indiaboard of Governors (MCI-BOG) has amended the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, to include telemedicine consultations by a registered medical practitioner. The guidelines, however, prohibit the use of digital technology to conduct surgical or invasive procedures remotely.

Telemedicine includes all channels of communication with the patient that leverage information technology platforms, including voice, audio, text and digital data exchange.

With hospitals closing their out-patient departments (OPDS) and cancelling elective procedures to focus on Covid-19 cases, the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Niti Aayog prepared guidelines on telemedicine practise to enable registered medical practitioners to provide health care advice online and remotely.

The guidelines specify dos and don’ts for doctors and also provides a list of medicines that can be prescribed by doctors to treat patients.

THE MHA REITERATED THAT STATES MUST OPEN 24X7 CONTROL ROOMS TO MONITOR THE MOVEMENT OF ESSENTIAL GOODS