City’s telemed program reaps praise
The city government has been receiving numerous positive feedback on its telemedicine digital platform, ‘Bantay Covid’, from patients who are under home quarantine due to the coronavirus-2019 disease according to a local health official.
During the virtual management committee meeting of city officials, Jan. 18, led by Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Health Services Office (HSO) head Dr. Rowena Galpo said the upbeat response was relayed to her by volunteers manning the program.
She said several of the feedback from patients appreciated that the telemedicine team were checking up on them and thankful for making them feel that they are not being ignored.
The patients who were called by the volunteers are very grateful and feel that they are not so helpless, Galpo added.
On the other hand, the platform’s volunteer doctors and other health professionals are also very grateful that they can still be of help to covid patients under home quarantine, Galpo said.
She said that 53 calls have already been done this month with the monitoring of 30 patients still ongoing thru the telemed platform.
For her part, city epidemiology and surveillance unit head Dr. Donnabel Panes said quarantined covid patients don’t only need medicines but also people to talk to and share their concerns with.
Galpo disclosed that the Summer Capital currently has 1,923 home isolated patients with 33 of them as registered telemed users. She added that the platform has 33 volunteer health workers as of present.
Earlier, the Mayor said the digital program was based on an ongoing program of Quezon City and modified to fit the needs of Baguio’s residents. It is spearheaded by the Health Services Office in collaboration with the City Mayor’s Office’s Management Information and Technology Division and the Baguio-Benguet Medical Society.
The free platform allows volunteer doctors and other health professionals to communicate with home quarantined individuals thru digital technology.
He said the system will allow those who are under home quarantine to interact with doctors and feel the concern of the local government and will also act as a monitoring device that will check on their progress and gather appropriate data.
Since the city lacks adequate isolation and quarantine facilities to handle the expected surge in cases, home quarantine is being maximized for those with asymptomatic, mild or moderate cases, the Mayor said. – Gaby B. Keith
