Aster Hospitals introduce virtual outpatient service through teleconsultation

DUBAI – April 15, 2020: Aster Hospitals UAE, a world-class facility under Aster DM Healthcare, a leading healthcare provider in the Middle East and India, has introduced specialist virtual outpatient service that allows patients to receive uninterrupted care and treatments without visiting the hospitals.

The initiative has all the elements experienced while visiting a hospital. The patients can book their doctor appointments, consult the doctor through a video call, receive treatment advices and get the prescribed medicines delivered at their doorstep – without moving out of their homes. In a case when the doctor prescribes for clinical tests, the ‘Lab At Home’ service personnel will visit the patient’s place of stay to collect samples for the tests.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr Sherbaz Bichu, CEO of Aster Hospitals UAE, said, “We are pleased to launch the teleconsultation services at Aster Hospitals, UAE. During these times of unprecedented challenges faced by the community, it is our moral responsibility being part of the healthcare sector to provide feasible and easy access of healthcare services. At the same time, we must ensure continuity of quality care to critical and non-critical patients, which is the core of our system. We offer the teleconsultation services with all our doctors across different specialties.”

“We developed the automated teleconsultation platform, which is integrated with our Electronic Medical Record, allowing both our existing and new patients to use the services with ease. The teleconsultation solution is required for easy accessibility of healthcare services, during these difficult times especially for follow up patients, patients who require medicine refills and those who want their doubts and concerns addressed. The virtual Outpatient Department (OPD) is a complete replication of the physical process, except that the patient is not physically present at the hospital,” he added.

Mr. Joseph George, GCC Regional Head of IT at Aster DM Healthcare, said, “We developed the comprehensive teleconsultation platform for the hospital’s specialist services to provide peer-to-peer connections. Patients can make appointment bookings through a call centre and the hospitals’ website or social media channels. The system will manage the insurance eligibility, online payment and virtual video consultation through an end-to-end automated process.”

“Patients can avail the facility by booking online and the end-to-end processes that start with verification of the patient identity with One-Time Password (OTP) sent via SMS. The right patient identification and quality care delivery are taken care in every step of the process. The system extends its service by integrating with the home delivery services of the pharmacy to serve our patients at its best,” he added.

“This platform provides holistic, integrated approach and accessibility to both the provider and the receiver which is achieved via a closed-loop, completely automated system. This means the doctors have access to details of the patients’ previous visits and diagnosis irrespective of the patient using teleconsultation or visiting the hospitals. Seamlessly, the patient also gets an electronic prescription and details of the care plan,” Dr Bichu further said.

Patients, who are under constant medication and need regular medical advice from doctors, would be able to manage their regular consultations without getting exposed to any infection by moving out of their homes.

The new service is provided in accordance with the guidelines of Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), strictly safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of the patients.

The process of teleconsultation for patients to reach Aster Hospitals UAE: Log on to asterhospital.com; select a doctor; book a teleconsultation slot through teleconsultation solution; and follow the automated steps to receive a consultation meeting link.