- Essential during a pandemic
Pakistan has an underfunded, ill-equipped and highly politicized public health system. It is a result of years of insufficient budgetary allocation and attention paid to the health sector. The coronavirus pandemic has further exposed the reality of the public health sector; lack of capacity in terms of infrastructure and medical professionals. Countries with some of the most advanced, well-funded and resourceful state health systems, such as the UK, Italy and the USA, have faltered under the overwhelming volume of patients infected with the novel coronavirus. Pakistan has so far not seen such an uncontrollable flow of patients into hospitals with limited beds and while one can hope and pray that it does not happen, complacency in this regard would be criminal. With the focus of all major government hospitals solely on treating covid-19 patients, a significant number of patients with other conditions are being neglected as a majority of public and private out-patient departments (OPDs) are closed. This was to be expected since time is usually not on the side of coronavirus-infected patients and especially those most at risk, having other underlying conditions, are getting priority care. Other diseases and chronic conditions have of course not gone on a hiatus and hence require medical attention too. One way to attend to non-coronavirus patients is through telemedicine, that is, online consultations with medical professionals.
At the moment this service is only being provided by private hospitals and clinics, some of whom were already in the telemedicine business and had the infrastructure ready. But they are having trouble meeting increased demand with some saying the influx of calls for consultations has gone up ten-fold. This is where the state has to step in and play its role in guaranteeing medical attention to patients who want to avoid a hospital visit for minor medical issues or are unable to find an open OPD willing to see them. SAPM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has claimed that 900 of the 17,000 health care providers who have enrolled for the Prime Minister’s ‘Corona Relief Tiger Force’ will offer their services to telemedicine. If this is the case then what exactly is the delay in deploying these available resources?
The Tiger Force is also voluntary, which will result in a limited number of healthcare providers opting for practicing medicine online. The PTI government has national television and radio, multiple teams dedicated to online promotion of the party and apparently thousands of healthcare workers at its disposal. It can surely put all these resources to better use by providing healthcare through telemedicine to the general public.
