Retracted: Implementation of a telemedicine service during COVID‐19 pandemic in Pakistan
Open accessAbstract
AIM: In this feasibility study, we aimed to implement a pilot telemedicine service at our healthcare facility in Faisalabad, Pakistan, and describe our experience. METHODS: Telemedicine service was established by Faisalabad Medical University at two of its affiliated locations: (i) a 24-hour COVID-19 Telephone Helpline was established at the Director Emergency Office, Allied Hospital, and District Headquarter (DHQ) Hospital. (ii) A Telemedicine Clinic comprising consultants and postgraduate residents from different specialties was established at Chief Office, Allied Hospital. The data related to the number and categories of calls and advice provided were collected from 27th March 2020 to 31st July 2020. RESULTS: A total of 4582 calls were received, at both locations, during the study period, out of which 2325 callers (51%) were male, and 2257 (49%) were females. At Allied Hospital, 172 patients were advised accordingly for their complaints, whereas, at DHQ Hospital, 320 patients were advised accordingly for their complaints. At the Telemedicine Clinic only, a total of 2436 calls were received during the study period, 1474 (60%) callers were male, and 962 (40%) were female. The majority of the calls were received by medicine (43%), dermatology (21%), and paediatrics (11%) specialties, respectively. CONCLUSION: Despite some limitations, the benefits of telemedicine in this COVID-19 era are enormous and it is feasible to implement telemedicine services in developing countries. The developing countries must invest in the internet and technology access to facilitate telemedicine and other e-health services for not only curbing this pandemic but also to promote a more efficient healthcare system after the pandemic.
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- Authors
- Nagra, M. H., Ehsan, S., Ahmad, U., Ali, M., Hussain, H. A., & Bakar, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Faisalabad (PK)
- Department of Medical Education Faisalabad Medical University Faisalabad Pakistan
- Allied Hospital (PK)
- Umm al-Qura University (SA)
- Department of Medicine District Headquarter Hospital Faisalabad Pakistan
- Corresponding author
- Ali, Majid
- Venue
- International Journal of Clinical Practice
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2021-05-18
- Volume
- 75
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- e14310-e14310
- ISSN
- 1368-5031 (ISSN-L)
- 1742-1241
- PMC
- PMC8237018
- OpenAlex
- W3158820575
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 2.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Status
- Retracted
- Update notices
- retraction (2021-10-12)
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Clinical Practice (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › General Dentistry › Dental Research and COVID-19
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Healthcare during COVID-19 Pandemic
- Keywords
- telemedicine, COVID-19 pandemic, telephone helpline, feasibility, e-health, developing countries, internet access, Faisalabad
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Child, Female, Humans, Male, Pakistan, Telemedicine, Pandemics
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