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The virtual doctor is in: Contactless consultations in the time of COVID-19

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Jessica Fenol, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/business/04/16/20200416-medifi-1.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Telehealth platform MEDIFI remotely connects doctors and patients anywhere in the Philippines. Online consultations have gained popularity due to the lockdown of Luzon to beat COVID-19. ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA -- Her finger painful and swollen, Yazhmin Malajito tapped on her smartphone for a cure, mindful that she needs to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a few minutes, a doctor told her exactly what she needed to do.The doctor on the app sent a prescription for antibiotics via email and instructed her to go to the hospital for a minor procedure. The 23-year-old copywriter recalled opening the app at around 10:30 p.m. and had a response from a nurse in 10 minutes.&quot;Di ko na kaya ‘yung pain at iba na appearance ng finger ko. I wanted to go to a hospital kahit risky, but I remembered an email from our HR about this virtual doctor nga,” Malajito said.(I can&#x27;t take the pain anymore and my finger&#x27;s appearance is different)&quot;Parang nasa ospital lang, except walang personal interaction (it was just like I was in a hospital, except there was no personal interaction),&quot; she said.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/business/04/16/20200416-medifi-2.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Yazhmin Malajito suffered from a Felon infection. Yazhmin Malajito</figcaption></figure></div>Like groceries, food and services affected by the lockdown, healthcare is being delivered online, offering millions under home quarantine to see a doctor, albeit on their smartphones.Malajito said the online consult cost P450 and it was covered by her health card.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/24/20/as-hospitals-are-swamped-pinoy-doctors-open-covid-19-consultation-online">As hospitals are swamped, Pinoy doctors open COVID-19 consultation online</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/23/20/covid-askforce-lung-center-launches-online-consultation-service">COVID AskForce: Lung Center launches online consultation service</a></li></ul><div>VIRTUAL DOCTORS</div>Despite being around for years, apps that offer virtual consultations gained wider traction due to the Luzon lockdown, MEDIFI CEO and co-founder Jay Fajardo told ABS-CBN News.MEDIFI, a telehealth platform that connects doctors and patients remotely, was launched in 2015 to relieve the &quot;overburdened&quot; healthcare system. It&#x27;s new version went online last November 2019, Fajardo said.Users and doctors on the platform grew &quot;exponentially&quot; after the enhanced community quarantine was announced, he said. The app now has 1,280 doctors and 6,261 patients with over 300 daily sign-ups.Currently, the app caters to over 120 consultations per day, he said.&quot;The benefits of telehealth, which had so far been mere theoretical in the past 5 years, were now made apparent by the limits a total lockdown posed on traditional doctor patient consultations,&quot; Fajardo said.&quot;We did indeed experience an exponential surge because of the quarantine,&quot; he added.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/business/04/16/20200416-medifi-3.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Users can choose doctors based on specialization and affordability of consultation fees</figcaption></figure></div>Patients need to choose a doctor on the app based on specialization and their consultation fees. Once confirmed, virtual consultations can be done through chat and video calls with media, document sharing and e-prescriptions, Fajardo said.&quot;By being able to choose the doctors based on their economic capacity, we’re able to serve a wider market, even those who have long been hesitant to tap healthcare services because of cost,&quot; he said.There has been a surge in use by millennials like Malajito, which could be due to their &quot;being in the sweet spot of being the market for healthcare while possessing progressive attitudes toward technology,&quot; Fajardo said. The app has seen higher volumes of requests for Pediatrics and OB-Gyn consultations, Fajardo said.Although there is a confidentiality clause, they observed requests for pulmonary specialists which could be triggered by respiratory illnesses related to COVID-19, he said.It took a coronavirus pandemic for Malajito and for the other Filipinos to trust virtual consultations.&quot;Nakakakaba kasi (it&#x27;s scary) what if the doctor didn&#x27;t really understand my problem? What if photos weren&#x27;t enough? Swerte lang &#x27;yung condition ko in a way kasi pwedeng mapicturan...Super thankful for these apps and the frontliners behind them. They&#x27;re medical professionals after all,&quot; she said.Due to e-commerce and online payments, more and more Filipinos are becoming confident to use telehealth services, Fajardo said. &quot;The key word now is convenience and the time is right for MEDIFI to provide the same experience as these services, with a keen focus on healthcare,&quot; Fajardo said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/02/27/18/uber-for-doctors-medicine-takes-off-as-tech-moves-healthcare">Uber for doctors, medicine takes off as tech moves healthcare</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/22/18/grab-for-doctors-plans-app-on-steroids-after-ayala-investment">Grab for doctors plans app &#x27;on steroids&#x27; after Ayala investment</a></li></ul>

Like groceries, food and services affected by the lockdown, healthcare is being delivered online, offering millions under home quarantine to see a doctor, albeit on their smarpthones.

Like groceries, food and services affected by the lockdown, healthcare is being delivered online, offering millions under home quarantine to see a doctor, albeit on their smarpthones.

The virtual doctor is in: Contactless consultations in the time of COVID-19

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The virtual doctor is in: Contactless consultations in the time of COVID-19

Jessica Fenol,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 16, 2020 08:02 AM PHT

Read More:

Virtual doctors

online consultation

online consult

telehealth

healthcare

coronavirus

MEDIFI

telehealth app

COVID-19 Philippines

COVID-19 pandemic

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