The aim behind observing World Health Day annually on 7th April is to work every year around the most important concern of the world in the sphere of health. In these times of social distancing when we think of accessing healthcare, it is only due to the IT sector because it has brought healthcare literally to our fingertips and reached even remote locations.

Technology in healthcare has become indispensible

While speaking to Medicircle, Bitopan Sarma Baruah, Head IT and Business Process at Excelcare Hospitals, Guwahati mentioned, “Post-Covid there have been momentums of the way things are moving in the field of telemedicine and video consultations, etc. This momentum should continue.” 

Pandemic made people realize that solutions of accessible healthcare were there but we were not really in the habit of using it. Saji Mathew, Chief Operating Officer and the Head of IT operations at Baby Memorial Hospital Kerala, mentioned in his conversation to Medicircle, “Now technology has become so indispensable in healthcare that people are chasing for the latest technological solutions. It has never been so smooth for the for IT professionals to make people of different departments of hospitals adopt new technologies.” 

IT in healthcare is not luxury, rather necessity

Not only the inhibitions in different departments of hospitals regarding use of IT got washed away but also patients understood its significance. Earlier the health professionals as well the patients did not really find comfort in interacting with each other through technology. In this context, Dr.Naresh Yallapragada, Chief Information Officer at Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences mentioned, “Thanks to technology, Telemedicine is one of the collaborative tools that helped in delivering patient care during COVID. The whole world is reaching out to patients using technology. There are many hospitals taking initiatives and reaching out to patients proactively.”

The second wave of the pandemic is knocking at our doors. Thankfully we have support of vaccination this time. Still, precaution is the need of the hour. Anil Sangalgikar, IT manager at Haria LG Rotary Hospital rightly mentioned in this context, “It was believed that IT is a luxury for healthcare but now due to the pandemic, it is a necessity. The patient sitting at home can consult the doctor easily now. We can enter the prescription of the doctor remotely and the pharmacy will provide medicine at the doorstep. Taking precautions during this pandemic is a necessity now.”

Information Technology has the power to make lives easier with solutions. Pandemic made people comfortable in using it as there was hardly any other option.

(Edited by Amrita Priya)