SUNWAY Medical Centre recently introduced a command centre for Telemedicine Services, which will serve as the focal point for the co-ordination and delivery of all its telemedicine services.
According to Sunway Medical Centre's chief executive officer, Bryan Lin Boon Diann, necessity is the mother of innovation and as the healthcare industry evolves.
"We too must move in tandem to meet these growing needs. The needs of our local and regional patients and customers have encouraged us to set up this command centre. And we pride the credibility of our telemedicine services as all medical or clinical enquiries will be attended by a certified nurse or medical officer," he said.
"The command centre for our telemedicine services is also timely given the current pandemic situation we are facing. We aim to make the patient experience better and in turn improve health outcomes, which is our primary goal of all health services. With this service in tow, we will be able to provide easier, more efficient access to healthcare when and where the patient needs it," he added.
The first phase of the Telemedicine Command Centre provides first level healthcare advisory services to patients. The centre operates on a 24 x 7 basis, and patients can either call in, email or reach out through social media platforms, such as, Facebook and WhatsApp. Once the enquiry is received, the attending nurse or medical officer will provide advice or make recommendations to consult a specialist at Sunway Medical Centre. If the patient agrees, the team can also assist in making an appointment with the respective consultant.
The concept of telemedicine and remote monitoring of patients has been discussed in healthcare literature for decades. Evidence has shown that telemedicine within a disease management plan can improve clinical outcomes and reduce health service utilisation and costs for chronic disease management. Patient satisfaction levels have also been positive with many being at ease with using technology and having more empowerment in their health status.
"In April 2020, the UK's Royal College of general practitioners reported that doctors were seeing just seven percent of their patients face-to-face, compared with 80 percent in 2019, proving that the demand for telemedicine is growing significantly. Even countries closer to home such as Indonesia and Thailand have adopted telemedicine to reach patients. With social distancing becoming the new norm, we foresee this trend increasing exponentially. On our end, we will continue enhancing our Telemedicine Command Centre to keep up with this growth," said Sunway Medical Centre's medical director, Dr Seow Vei Ken.