The Use of Telemedicine in Bangladesh during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This paper presents the impact of telemedicine use among patients and healthcare professionals during the epidemic due to COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh. According to our findings, as the coronavirus outbreak quickly surges worldwide, many countries are adapting non-therapeutic preventative measures. Telemedicine is the exchange of medical information from one location to another using electronic communication. Telemedicine refers to the use of information and communication technology to provide healthcare support. During the pandemic, it is safer not to visit a hospital physically for consultation until and unless it is of utmost emergency. In this scenario, Telemedicine plays a vast role in developing both the quality and access to healthcare services during a pandemic. The current (COVID-19) scenario has shown us the significance of using Telehealth to deliver healthcare, especially as a means of decreasing the risk of cross-contamination caused by close contact. Bangladesh, like every other nation, has started using telemedicine as a means of providing digital healthcare services. As the outbreak continues, this paper finds that several telemedicine service providers in Bangladesh have increased their operation for serving the general mass. This paper finds the role of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic as a bridge between providing safe healthcare consultation while keeping social distance as advised. The current situation of COVID-19 in Bangladesh has also been discussed in this paper. Despite some challenges of a telemedicine application in Bangladesh, the role of telemedicine is quite impactful during the pandemic.