Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Apr 2: The Indian Medical Association’s Arunachal chapter (IMA-AP) is soon going to launch a free tele-consultation helpline for those who require medical consultation during the lockdown period.
Speaking to this daily, IMA-AP president, Dr Lobsang Tsetim, informed that “the helpline will be for consultation on various ailments, and people can get their queries answered without having to visit the hospitals or clinics during the lockdown.”
He advised those who require immediate medical attention to visit a doctor or a health worker in person.
The tele-consultation system will connect callers to doctors who have volunteered to provide their services during the lockdown period.
“We cannot have doctors sitting in a room to facilitate the service as it would be a waste of manpower. We are trying to come up with a way to connect the calls directly to the doctors who will carry handsets specifically for the tele-consultation helpline,” Dr Tsetim said.
He also noted the requirement for psychiatric consultation “as many would be under stress following the lockdown, especially those under quarantine.”
Three doctors have volunteered to provide consultation on mental health issues, he said.
The tele-consultation system will also have language options, followed by the option of selecting one’s medical requirement. It will be operational from 9 am to 5 pm.
The helpline, however, is still in the process of being set up, and the IMA-AP is trying to get it up and running at the earliest.
Dr Tsetim said that if the system is not operational soon, the doctors may have to make their personal contact numbers public to provide consultations.
