The Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, has ushered in additional telemedicine and health monitoring services to the Virtual Doctor Platform. The move aims to provide innovative solutions and technology services in the digital health field by offering remote specialized care and medical consultations.
The designated medical staff will be working around the clock to streamline ways of communications with community members and to raise their awareness about the best international infection prevention practices.
The Virtual Doctor Platform has been launched since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country, bringing together a high-qualified and well-trained staff to respond to Covid-19 public inquiries. The platform is available in languages as varied as Arabic, English, Chinese, German, French, Indonesian, Russian, and several Indian languages.
Emirati postgraduate doctors residing in Canada, Turkey, and New Zealand are taking part in the provision of telemedicine services, with over Covid19-related 97,000 calls have been received so far from across the UAE.
24/7 virtual consultations
H.E. Dr. Hussein Abdel Rahman Al-Rand, Undersecretary of the Ministry’s Health Assistant Sector, Health Centers, and Clinics, said:: MoHAP, in line with the directives of the UAE Government, is committed to promoting the quality of life and sustaining healthcare services, with all Covid-19 preventive measures in place. The platform is providing round-the-clock proactive preventive services and virtual consultations to meet patient’s needs and to curb healthcare costs.”
Chronic disease consultations
Al-Rand pointed out that the first of its kind virtual interactive platform for health awareness, consultations, and guidance is a comprehensive system for assessing health cases remotely, limiting misinformation, and reaching a wide array of people from various nationalities.
The service would help reduce the flow of patients with normal cold and flu cases, as well as Covid-19 suspected cases to health facilities.
“From assessing the case and consulting the doctor, to providing medications and medical labs, we are currently in the process of upgrade the service to cover a wide range of medical consultations. Chronic diseases patients can also use the platform to follow up on their cases without the need to visit health centers,” he noted.
Awareness podium at Dubai Mall
Dr. Haifa Fares, Head of PHC Program Section, said: “The Virtual Doctor Platform aims primarily to reach a wider segment of society and bring them closer irrespective of physical distancing to offer them the health awareness and care through our smart technologies.”
“Additionally, the interactive service aims to assess the caller’s health conditions via specific questions about their disease history and symptoms, so as to provide health consultations or guide them to visit the health center,” she added.
And as part of raising awareness about the importance of the Virtual Doctor Service, MoHAP has set up a podium at the Dubai Mall to further highlight the new service and to provide health advice remotely. The podium, which will last until 23 August, includes interactive screens displaying various disease categories. Having selected the desired category, the user will be engaged in a call with the medical staff to respond to the caller inquiries in an easy convenient manner.
This comes as part of MoHAP’s endeavors to make the most of smart solutions in health services and implementing innovative models in the preventive health practices, in line with the ministry’s strategy to provide comprehensive and integrated healthcare services in innovative and sustainable ways that prevent diseases in society.