Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39722978›Full record

ArticleJournal of family medicine and primary care2024

Mobile health teleconsultation and telemedicine in operating outpatient departments during COVID-19 pandemic at a hospital in Eastern Nepal.

Pramendra Prasad Gupta, Narendra Bhatta, Rakesh Kumar Das, Anish Bhattarai, Deependra Prasad Sarraf, Antoine Geissbuhler

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of family medicine and primary care, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Pramendra Prasad GuptaDepartment of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, Medical Coordinator, eHealth and Telemedicine Program, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.
Narendra BhattaDepartment of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Focal Person, eHealth and Telemedicine Program, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.
Rakesh Kumar DaseHealth and Telemedicine Program Unit, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.
Anish BhattaraieHealth and Telemedicine Program Unit, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.
Deependra Prasad SarrafDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.
Antoine GeissbuhlerDepartment of Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Telemedicine provides a means to deliver healthcare across distances, enhancing efficiency and accessibility, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted its importance by reducing the risk of virus transmission while maintaining healthcare delivery. This study evaluates the telemedicine program implemented at B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), Nepal, which provided specialist services to remote districts via teleconsultation during the 2020 lockdown. The objectives were to identify the number of patients, the major complaints, and the follow-up departments during teleconsultation. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on teleconsultation data from March 1 to August 31, 2020, across various outpatient departments at BPKIHS. Data from 10,901 patients were reviewed, with variables including age, gender, residence, and consultation medium. Descriptive statistics were calculated using SPSS (version 22). Results: Most of the patients (55.46%) were female, and the majority (30.84%) aged 21-30 years. Most consultations were from the Sunsari district (54.8%) and Koshi state (88.9%). Voice calls were the primary medium (39.62%), followed by WhatsApp video calls (30.08%). Obstetrics and gynecology had the highest consultation rate (16.15%), followed by dermatology (14.4%) and psychiatry (10.37%). Nearly half of the patients (45.0%) had follow-up consultations, primarily for dermatological issues (17.85%). Conclusion: The findings underscore telemedicine's role in facilitating healthcare access, particularly for women and residents of remote areas, by reducing travel and exposure risks. This study highlights the need for further integration of telehealth technologies to enhance healthcare delivery, suggesting that teleconsultation can efficiently meet healthcare demands in resource-limited settings during and beyond pandemics.

Indexed as

COVID-19 pandemiclow- and middle-income countriesNepaloutpatientresource-limited settingsteleconsultation

Identifiers

PMID39722978
PMCPMC11668482

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.