Introduction
The Tele-consultation product is ehospital (NIC). The solution providers value cost reduction the most. Their business model is B2B and B2C both. They provide web-based applications for the doctors. They also provide mobile applications for patients.
Size of Healthcare Provider
a. Individual Clinician,
b. Clinics,
c. Nursing Home/Small Hospital (less than 100 beds),
d. Hospital
Level of Specialization
a. Primary
b. Secondary
Expert Panel Evaluation
The existing e-hospital EMR solution (by the platform provider) has been scaled for providing telemedicine services through an integrated video conferencing. The solution is EMR extended to a Physician’s portal using which doctors could do teleconsultation. Web based portal has an integrated video calling system. High technology efficiency expected from the users and it does not provide user friendly UI/UX. Mobile based platform was not part of the demo.
Hospital admin could register and book an appointment for the teleconsultation of patients. The hospital admin has to manually confirm appointment time for each patient; automatic schedule function is not there, and additional staff is required to manage this. The platform was conceived based on the interpretation of working of a public/government hospital. Prescriptions are generated in English, but SMS of prescription could also be sent in the regional language.
Doctors can video call with patients in synchronous and asynchronous manner and take notes i.e. noting clinical conditions, writing prescriptions and/or entering data concurrently in the interfaced EMR. Template for note-taking to the doctor is only for general physicians. Doctors have to confirm that medicine prescribed follows the government guidelines. Digital signature could be incorporated.
The underline eHospital solution supports terminology and coding standards including SNOMED CT, LOINC and ICD-10 at places where applicable. The solution claims using the FHIR server and the possibility to share health records through FHIR resources. The solution also integrated digital signature as well as eSign. It also takes care of TPG guidelines as needed in terms of patient’s consent, sharing doctors qualifications with patients and signed prescriptions.
Patient side of the interface is not easily navigable and has complex UI/UX. A longer process that involves many clicks of appointment booking via administrator or support staff. The patient is also expected to know the unique number for follow ups (This is also limiting functionality for many users, varying in capabilities, especially literacy). Patients have to know apriori speciality with whom they have to consult or they would be screened and then directed to suitable speciality. The platform has pre-screening capability as an offering for hospitals. Choosing a doctor is only possible during follow-up consultation. The patient gets an appointment date and appointment time. The patient could track the appointment (view status after fixing appointment) and book appointments for family members/ loved ones also. Patients can download and upload data. Platform mandatorily requires the patient to enter the mobile number and verify using Aadhaar. Using a single mobile number 5 appointments could be booked, but each patient needs its own KYC and has to provide identification details using the Aadhaar card. Appointment booking is a 2 step process, one is entering details and second is eKYC. Patients as a dependent are not well thought of, especially patients low in technology literacy or lacking resources (capabilities) for e-KYC would face difficulty in using the platform for consultation.
Additional Features
EMR of hub hospital integrated (proprietary)
Solution Maturity Level
a. TPG complaint: 3b
b. Feature complexity: 4 partial