Telemedicine - A Novel way to Fight a Pandemic

Telemedicine, a novel way to fight a Pandemic, by Prof Angus W Wallace and Dr Suhail Y Chughtai is a narrative of how medical professionals and technology experts under the umbrella of a strong political will, worked together in Pakistan to prevent deaths in large numbers from Covid-19 using Telemedicine

The Covid 19 pandemic took the world by surprise. Even those advanced countries with a well-established healthcare infrastructure were caught out by the speed that the virus spread and took hold.

As a new virus, very little was known about its properties, how it was spread, and the short and long-term effects on health. The death toll was growing fast. The world needed answers, and fast. What was clear from the beginning was that existing healthcare structures were not adequate to manage the situation. Every country reacted in different ways.

In Pakistan, The Punjab Government deployed "Smart Lockdown" as a policy to limit the Corona epidemic in March 2020. The essential services of the Patient-Doctor physical visit posed the risk of spreading the Corona epidemic. However, in addition to the growing numbers was a real danger that people rushing to the medical facilities (Hospital and Family Doctors) to obtain advice for suspected Corona virus symptoms, could have ����looded the Government hospitals and private clinics.

No matter what the crisis, in the moment of most need a solution presented itself.

This is the story of what happened.