How Tele-Health can bring Diabetes Care to the Common Man
Naveen Gulati is the co-founder of Open Mind Services Limited, an outsourcing company that is invested heavily in bringing perceptible changes in the state of affairs of Health Services in India.
Diabetes, the plague of this generation, needs qualified support for patients to eliminate fear and preventable sufferings. Tele Health Help Desk offers precisely that solution- Patient relationship management that acts as a single point of contact for patients and their caretakers and provides a dedicated helpline to diabetes patients, ensuring that a hospital or Pharma Company’s brand value augments its reputation in the process. Innovation is the cornerstone of competitive advantage, and we are excited to change the old approach. Will you be a forerunner?
Diabetes is a modern day dragon that is threatening to affect a big section of the masses of the present century. The numbers are stunning beyond belief: Nearly 50 million suffer from the deadly lifestyle disease. Average cost of treatment of each diabetic patient is approximately Rs. 6000 a year, as per IDF Atlas, 2014. And this cost does not include any cost associated with more serious complications like diabetes foot, kidney and eye disease due to diabetes.
With the huge number of diabetes patients- 50 million or 5 crores- the combined colossal amount makes a big dent in any country’s economy, fragile as it is due to continuous recession around the globe.
Besides expenditure, there is a big shortage of trained workforce at all levels, especially the lowest and middle rung of the society. According to recent studies, underprivileged sections of society in urban ghettos are particularly vulnerable, if not more than as much as the rising classes.
The lack of specialized human resources is proving a major deterrent in fighting the monster and preventing major losses like diabetic nephropathy, cardiac complications and diabetic retinopathy.
Picture the scenario outside a health facility, endocrinologists are struggling to muddle through the thronging flock of patients. The benches outside the room are all crammed to capacity, the cacophony increasing with each passing minute. Waiting is never supposed to give any kind of pleasure; it is always a compromise of the poor. Challenge is defined thus. Even a willing and able doctor will be exasperated with so much to do in so little time.
So, how can the healthcare system meet this need?
First and foremost, technology should be used to offer prevention as well as treatment of diabetes. The age old adage of cure being an after-thought should be the primary motive for preferring prevention as its go-to strategy.
Experienced and well equipped tele-health companies can play a critical role by collaborating with medical institutions and the government for proactive tele health solutions that would minimize hospital visits as well as create an empathetic environment for patients to come back to, via the telephone of course!
There are a few organizations that specialize in the sphere of empathy calls and history tracking. Their tele health division is well respected for employing state of the art software that helps in tracking every single detail of all the patients and in the same time helps in issuing alerts and emergencies regarding patients.
The positive message of the services—helping patients adapt to daily life without too many restraints —is the key to success.
If we have a senior citizen diabetic whose blood sugar shot up to 300, because she couldn’t resist her grandson’s birthday cake, empathy urges us to accept what has occurred, and respond, “What’s life without celebrations and a little piece of cake!”
Bringing patients within your desired goalposts by teaching them to build their diet around a family event is more realistic than preaching the more stern and unwelcoming, “Never eat dessert.”
The challenge before hospitals is to develop a centralized function to act as the single point of contact for the end-users (patients) who require assistance for resolution of problems, concerns, question and requests. The need of the hour is a Dedicated Empathetic Helpdesk for Hospitals that would help your facility build a strong bond and a stronger brand with your customers – Patients and Prospects- before and after they are in your premises. Such improved communications, based on a predictive marketing model, result in building and sustaining trust in your facility, a crucial task in the healthcare business.
Our tele health help desk has made significant positive changes by improving customer satisfaction and exceeding performance targets. One of our clients has authorized us to disclose their figures:
1. Operational Savings of Rs. 22 lakh annually.
2. Patient retention has increased by a sizeable 8%.
3. Higher level of customer satisfaction.
It’s going to be increasingly important for you to know what’s happening when patients leave your facility.
A handful of futuristic companies, led by charismatic pioneers are engaged in providing helpdesk services to medical institutions that act as the preferred medium of interaction between them and their patients. An explainer video presentation that describes tele health services and benefits thereof can open your mind to exciting new possibilities of retaining patients and providing care for them better than ever before. You can also watch the video directly on YouTube at the URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c57rTr-l64
The process of proactive patient relationship management is still in a nascent stage in India. Change is beckoning you, the risk-taker and innovator. Today is a good day to do that, no?
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