Telemedicine Center Research Articles

Loneliness and Social Support Experienced by COVID-19 Patients Attending a Telemedicine Centre of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kolkata: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Telemedicine acted as one of the biggest medium in treating Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients during the second wave of the still ongoing pandemic. Although the symptoms were taken care of and treated through teleconsultation, the loneliness and social support system of these patients went largely unrecognised. The morbidity pattern, effect of self-isolation and quarantine, uncertainties in social support were major contributors to loneliness among patients suffering from COVID-19. Aim: To estimate the proportion of loneliness and level of social support experienced by COVID-19 patients seeking advice from a telemedicine centre of Kolkata and to find out their socioclinical profile and the associated relationship. Materials and Methods: An observational study with crosssectional design was conducted on 403 COVID-19 patients who had taken advice from the telemedicine centre of Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGME and R), Kolkata for a period of 12 weeks (May-July 2021). Loneliness was assessed by the 11-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness scale, whereas social support was assessed using 12-item Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support scale through telephonic interview. Data were tabulated in the Microsoft Office Excel 2019 (Microsoft Corp, Redmond, WA, USA) and the analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM, New York City, USA) version 25.0. Results: Out of 403, more than half of the study population, 194 (48.2%) belonged to 18-35 years of age. Of the total, 235 (58.3%) were males, 319 (79.2%) were currently married and 300 (74.4%) were Hindus. About 142 (35.2%) respondents had experienced severe loneliness, while 297 (73.7%) had experienced high social support. There was a significant negative correlation found between loneliness and social support (r=-0.495, p-value <0.01). It was found that being male, belonging to nuclear family, education upto higher secondary level, being addicted, loneliness due to physical distancing, and those who had socialised frequently had higher odds of loneliness, whereas unemployed, unskilled, semiskilled and skilled occupation, having one chronic disease had lower odds of social support. Conclusion: About 338 (84%) patients had experienced loneliness which was strikingly high. This shows a deeper aspect into the actual picture of how COVID-19 impacts mental health of those who are affected. Future interventions are needed to address loneliness and develop social support system along with addressing healthcare needs of COVID-19 patients.

Patient opinion on the monitoring of their wet age‐related macular degeneration during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and on the importance of telemedicine

AbstractPurposeTo present the patients’ view on the monitoring of their wet Age‐related Macular Degeneration (wet AMD) during Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), and the impact that telemedicine could have on it.MethodsWet AMD patients of Swiss Visio Montchoisi and RétinElysée (Lausanne, Switzerland), who had intravitreal anti‐Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (anti‐VEGF) injections before and after the first period of the Swiss confinement due to COVID‐19, completed two questionnaires. The first evaluated their view on their adherence to their scheduled injections during the confinement, and on the future use of telemedicine. The second, adapted from National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire‐25, evaluated their opinion on their visual function during the confinement.ResultsFrom a total of 130 patients, 8.5% responded they did not respect their assigned injection interval during the confinement (group 1), while 91.5% responded they did (group 2). The majority of group 1 (37.5%) responded they did not attend their scheduled visit to avoid using public transportation. The majority of group 2 (78.7%) considered the continuation of their treatment more important than the risk of contracting COVID‐19. Before the lockdown, patients of group 2 had more need for help from others than the patients of group 1 (p = 0.02). In a future lockdown, 36.3% of group 1 and 8.7% of group 2 would prefer remote monitoring of their wet AMD via telemedicine (p = 0.02), 54.5% and 86.9% would prefer to visit the clinic (p = 0.02), while 9% and 4.3% would avoid the visit, respectively. 70% of group 1 and 33.6% of group 2 would rather use the telemedicine application in their home than visit a telemedicine center (p = 0.04).ConclusionsDespite our availability to provide continuous intravitreal anti‐VEGF injections during the COVID‐19 confinement, many wet AMD patients did not receive their scheduled treatment. In similar future circumstances, most patients would prefer to visit the clinic. The patients of group 1 would prefer remote monitoring of their AMD via telemedicine at a higher rate than the patients of group 2.Bibliography Visual Function Questionnaire 25. https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn‐about‐eye‐health/resources‐for‐health‐educators/outreach‐materials/visual‐function‐questionnaire‐25

Positionspapier zur Zertifizierung von Telemedizinzentren

Cardiovascular diseases, especially chronic heart failure, are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In the context of patient care, telemedical services have great potential to address the growing imbalance between the need for treatment and current provision of care. Cardiological telemedicine centers (TMCs) can thus support patient care in rural or remote areas and enable fast access to specialists. To ensure uniform process and quality standards, the implementation of a systematic quality management system in TMCs is essential. The predefined verifiable and comprehensible quality criteria of a TMC are intended to ensure that the structured implementation of telemonitoring and structured treatment interventions based on it can bring about an actual improvement in the care of patients with heart disease. In addition, certification of the quality management system ensures that the structures and processes of a TMC are aligned with legal and normative requirements.

Cross-sectional study of the ambulance transport between healthcare facilities with medical support via telemedicine: Easy, effective, and safe tool.

Feasibility and safety of ambulance transport between healthcare facilities with medical support exclusively via telemedicine are unknown. This was a retrospective study with a single telemedicine center reference for satellite emergency departments of the same hospital. The study population was all critically ill patients admitted to one of the peripheral units from November 2016 to May 2020 and who needed to be transferred to the main building. Telemedicine-assisted transportation was performed by an emergency specialist. The inclusion criteria included patients above the age of 15 and initial stabilization performed at the emergency department. Unstable, intubated, ST-elevation myocardial infarction and acute stroke patients were excluded. There was a double-check of safety conditions by the nurse and the remote doctor before the ambulance departure. The primary endpoint was the number of telemedicine-guided interventions during transport. 2840 patients were enrolled. The population was predominantly male (53.2%) with a median age of 60 years. Sepsis was the most prevalent diagnosis in 28% of patients, followed by acute coronary syndromes (8.5%), arrhythmia (6.7%), venous thromboembolism (6.1%), stroke (6.1%), acute abdomen (3.6%), respiratory distress (3.3%), and heart failure (2.5%). Only 22 (0.8%) patients required telemedicine-assisted support during transport. Administration of oxygen therapy and analgesics were the most common recommendations made by telemedicine emergency physicians. There were no communication problems in the telemedicine-assisted group. Telemedicine-assisted ambulance transportation between healthcare facilities of stabilized critically ill patients may be an option instead of an onboard physician. The frequency of clinical support requests by telemedicine is minimal, and most evaluations are of low complexity and easily and safely performed by trained nurses.

Forecasting care seekers satisfaction with telemedicine using machine learning and structural equation modeling.

Many individuals visit rural telemedicine centres to obtain safe and effective health remedies for their physical and emotional illnesses. This study investigates the antecedents of patients’ satisfaction relating to telemedicine adoption in rural public hospitals settings in Bangladesh through the adaptation of Expectation Disconfirmation Theory extended by Social Cognitive Theory. This research advances a theoretically sustained prediction model forecasting patients’ satisfaction with telemedicine to enable informed decision making. A research model explores four potential antecedents: expectations, performance, disconfirmation, and enjoyment; that significantly contribute to predicting patients’ satisfaction concerning telemedicine adoption in Bangladesh. This model is validated using two-staged structural equation modeling and artificial neural network approaches. The findings demonstrate the determinants of patients’ satisfaction with telemedicine. The presented model will assist medical practitioners, academics, and information systems practitioners to develop high-quality decisions in the future application of telemedicine. Pertinent implications, limitations and future research directions are endorsed securing long-term telemedicine sustainability.

Position paper on required competencies of nonphysician employees in telemedicine centers

The non-physician employees in telemedicine centers (TMC) play adecisive role in the care and treatment of patients with heart failure. For this reason, aholistic profile consisting of professional and methodological as well as social and personal competences is necessary, which should be built up or promoted in corresponding training concepts. This position paper underlines the urgency of appropriate and standardized further training of non-physician employees for quality assurance in TMCs and summarizes the requirements for the additional qualification of atelemedical assistant across the board.

Forecasting Teleconsultation Demand Using an Ensemble CNN Attention-Based BILSTM Model with Additional Variables.

To enhance the forecasting accuracy of daily teleconsultation demand, this study proposes an ensemble hybrid deep learning model. The proposed ensemble CNN attention-based BILSTM model (ECA-BILSTM) combines shallow convolutional neural networks (CNNs), attention mechanisms, and bidirectional long short-term memory (BILSTM). Moreover, additional variables are selected according to the characteristics of teleconsultation demand and added to the inputs of forecasting models. To verify the superiority of ECA-BILSTM and the effectiveness of additional variables, two actual teleconsultation datasets collected in the National Telemedicine Center of China (NTCC) are used as the experimental data. Results showed that ECA-BILSTMs can significantly outperform corresponding benchmark models. And two key additional variables were identified for teleconsultation demand prediction improvement. Overall, the proposed ECA-BILSTM model with effective additional variables is a feasible promising approach in teleconsultation demand forecasting.

Peculiarities of outpatient care for COVID-19 patients using telemedicine technologies

BACKGROUND: The use of telemedicine in providing outpatient care for COVID-19 patients is an integral part of the most intensively developing and promising areas of national health care.
 AIM: This study aims to demonstrate the efficiency of using telemedicine technologies in outpatient care for COVID-19 patients.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study is the retrospective analysis of remote consultations for 57,256 patients with COVID-19 from April 1, 2020, to May 24, 2020.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The results of human resource analyses, the physician workloads, and the categories of observed patient categories are presented. The majority of patients were asymptomatic (45%), a mild form of the disease was observed in 4534 (34%) patients, and moderate cases were observed in 2800 (21%) patients. Concomitant pathology was observed in 60.0% of patients. The capacity of the telemedicine center was 52.8 patients for one physician per shift.
 CONCLUSIONS: The telemedicine structure of the center, which regulates the interactions of physicians with patients and other healthcare facilities, has enabled the appropriate use of human resources to ensure that therapeutic, diagnostic, and epidemiological activities are adequate and timely in outpatient settings.

Barriers to International Telemedicine Conferencing: A Survey of the National University Hospital Council of Japan.

Introduction:Telemedicine conferencing is expected to become commonly used internationally. However, national reports on internationally related telemedicine are limited, and related activities and challenges in each country are unclear. In this study, we aimed to clarify the current status and barriers to international telemedicine conferencing in Japan.Methods:The questionnaire was sent to the Internationalization Project Team (I-PT) representatives in all 43 Japanese National University Hospitals. The total of 167 assigned staff comprised 86 medical staff in charge of internationalization (MI) and 81 technical staff in telemedicine (TT).Results:The response rate was 93% (40/43 universities) from 88 staff (44 MI and 44 TT). Most respondents (75%) stated that they had not been active in international telemedicine conferencing during the past 3 years, although a videoconferencing system was installed in 93% of universities. A total of 65% respondents felt that barriers to promoting telemedicine and conferencing existed. Most (43%) respondents reported staff shortage as the most serious barrier overall. Five TT (19%) felt that the most serious barrier was difficulty with English communication, although no MI selected this as a barrier. More MI than TT felt that technical issues were the most serious barrier (MI: 4/29, TT: 1/27).Conclusions:International telemedicine conferencing was found to be insufficiently active in I-PT of Japan, although the installed equipment and technical expertise of TT seemed adequate. This indicates that merely assigning MI and TT to an I-PT is not enough and that improved cooperation between both MI and TT at each university hospital is needed. Establishment of a structured international telemedicine center in each university hospital is to be suggested to accelerate the activities in Japan.

Technology and Disasters: The Evolution of the National Emergency Tele-Critical Care Network.

Technology and Disasters: The Evolution of the National Emergency Tele-Critical Care Network.

Telephonic Triage in Times of COVID-19: Experiences at a Telemedicine Center in India.

An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Offshore telemedicine emergency service: a 1-year experience

AimOffshore wind energy is a fast growing market. Accordingly, a correspondingly large number of employees are working at the wind farms. Owing to the harsh operating conditions, accidents and medical emergencies occur there. The care of these patients poses special challenges. The aim of the investigation was to determine whether telemedical emergency care is technically possible on the North Sea, far away from any medical care.Subject and methodsWe were able to establish a raw data supported telemedical integration with a rescue service monitor for transmission of ECG, blood pressure, saturation and other vital parameters to a telemedicine centre. As a first step, a satellite connection was set up on a supply ship for the transmission, which was then made available for data transfer via WLAN.ResultsIn this project, we were able to show in tests as well as in actual patient care that telemedical support of rescue service personnel on site using raw data transmission is also possible offshore on a supply ship. In this project, defined areas with WLAN coverage were necessary in which the transmission worked in 100% of cases.ConclusionThe care of emergencies in the area of offshore wind farms is an increasing problem, which can be sensibly treated with telemedical support. Technical possibilities can also be created on site in the North Sea. The further expansion of a communication network, for example, with LTE or 5G, is necessary to enable telemedical care independent of supply ships.

Antibiotic stewardship in direct-to-consumer telemedicine consultations leads to high adherence to best practice guidelines and a low prescription rate

ObjectiveTo analyze the antibiotic prescription rate in low-risk patients evaluated at a telemedicine program that adopts antibiotic stewardship protocols. MethodsAdult patients who accessed a single direct-to-consumer telemedicine center (Jan/2019–Feb/2020) were retrospectively enrolled. Diseases amenable to antimicrobial treatment were classified under five diagnostic groups: upper respiratory tract infection (URI), acute pharyngotonsillitis (PT), acute sinusitis (AS), urinary tract infection (UTI), and acute diarrhea (AD). Physicians were trained on and advised to strictly follow the current guideline recommendations supported by institutional antibiotic stewardship protocols, readily available online during consultations. We analyzed the antibiotic prescription rate among patients, referral rate, and antibiotic class through descriptive statistics. ResultsA total of 2328 patients were included in the study. A total of 2085 (89·6%) patients were discharged with usual recommendations, medication (if needed), and instructions about red flags, while 243 (10·4%) were referred to a face-to-face consultation. Among the discharged patients, the antibiotic prescription rates by the diagnostic group were URI — 2·5%, PT — 35·0%, AS — 51·8%, UTI — 91.6%, and AD — 1·6%. In most cases, prescribed antibiotics were in line with institutional stewardship protocols. ConclusionsLow prescription rate of antibiotics can be achieved using antibiotic stewardship protocols at direct-to-consumer telemedicine consultations, showing high adherence to international guidelines. These results reinforce telemedicine as a cost-effective and safe strategy for the initial assessment of acute non-urgent symptoms.

Telemedicine and the Use of Korean Medicine for Patients With COVID-19 in South Korea: Observational Study.

BackgroundCOVID-19 was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and it has since spread worldwide. The Association of Korean Medicine (AKOM) established the COVID-19 telemedicine center of Korean medicine (KM telemedicine center) in Daegu and Seoul.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe the results of the KM telemedicine center and the clinical possibility of using herbal medicines for COVID-19.MethodsAll procedures were conducted by voice call following standardized guidelines. The students in the reception group obtained informed consent from participants and they collected basic information. Subsequently, Korean Medicine doctors assessed COVID-19–related symptoms and prescribed the appropriate herbal medicine according to the KM telemedicine guidelines. The data of patients who completed the program by June 30, 2020, were analyzed.ResultsFrom March 9 to June 30, 2020, 2324 patients participated in and completed the KM telemedicine program. Kyung-Ok-Ko (n=2285) was the most prescribed herbal medicine, and Qingfei Paidu decoction (I and II, n=2053) was the second most prescribed. All COVID-19–related symptoms (headache, chills, sputum, dry cough, sore throat, fatigue, muscle pain, rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, dyspnea, chest tightness, diarrhea, and loss of appetite) improved after treatment (P<.001).ConclusionsThe KM telemedicine center has provided medical service to 10.8% of all patients with COVID-19 in South Korea (as of June 30, 2020), and it is still in operation. We hope that this study will help to establish a better health care system to overcome COVID-19.

Features of professional burnout and subjectively significant stress factors in doctors who provided remote telemedicine services during COVID-19 pandemic

Providing remote medical care in a telemedicine center (TMC) is a fundamentally new approach to organizing interaction between patients and doctors in Russia. Subjectively significant stress factors in medical workers of classical types of organizations (polyclinic, hospital) well studied. The importance of these factors may shift in the shopping center, and the study of these factors will help to develop recommendations for reducing the risk of professional burnout. Purpose of research . To research the relationship between professional burnout and subjectively significant stress factors among physicians of a telemedicine center. Material and methods . Assessment of the presence of professional burnout was carried out using a questionnaire: questionnaire of labour stress (Ch. Spielberger, 1994; A. B. Leonova, S. B. Velichkovskaya, 2002); questionnaire Professional burnout for medical workers (N. E. Vodopyanova, 2009). The survey involved 137 doctors who provided remote consultations to patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2. Results . It was found that working with the use of telemedicine technologies is one of the predictors of the development of burnout syndrome. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between work experience, age, and the degree of burnout. The main factors of stress development that are predictors of burnout were identified. Analysis of the results of the study showed that among doctors who provide remote medical consultations, the main symptom of burnout was depersonalization.

Comparative analysis of patient satisfaction with COVID-19 medical care provided in telemedicine center

The article presents the results of a dynamic analysis of the satisfaction of patients diagnosed with CAVID‑19 with the quality of medical services provided remotely at the telemedicine centre in Moscow in 2020.Purpose of research. Conduct a dynamic assessment of patient satisfaction with the quality of remote medical services provided in different time periods.Material and methods. The results of an anonymous survey of 424 patients on the quality of remote medical services were dynamically evaluated. The first group (138) received medical care from 01.04 to 30.04, the second one (286) – from 01.06 to 30.06 of 2020 after the implementation of measures to improve them. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0.Results. When analysing the results, a high level of patient satisfaction was revealed, but there was a significant (p &lt; 0.05) difference in the level of satisfaction between the groups. The factors of connection between telemedicine services and patient satisfaction were identified, which served as the basis for organizational measures.Conclusion. Providing medical services using telemedicine technologies can be considered as one of the most effective ways to provide medical care.

Медицинский логопед в мультидисциплинарной реабилитационной команде. Практический опыт Клиники Института Мозга

Background. In domestic and foreign publications, there are no descriptions of the principles of interaction between a medical speech therapist (MST) and other members of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team (MDRT). Aim. To analyze our own experience in organizing the work of the speech therapy service of the regional neurorehabilitation Center. Materials and methods. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the activities of the division of MST of the interterritorial Center for Neurorehabilitation “Clinic of the Brain Institute“ (CBI) for the period 2015–2019. In the structure of the CBI, there is a 24-hour hospital with 45 beds, including a 9-bed intensive care unit, an 8-bed day hospital, a polyclinic with 50 visits per shift, and a telemedicine center. The speech therapy team of the MDRT consists of 8 specialists with higher education in the specialty “speech pathologist-defectologist“. Speech therapy examination consists of key blocks of clinical diagnosis of speech therapy syndromes: dysphagia, dysarthria, aphasia and prosoparesis. Each block represents a complex of a basic score scale and additional instrumental, including neurophysiological methods. The basis of speech therapy is voice training, articulation and probe massage and other standard procedures, combined in the concept of “basic techniques” for speech therapy syndromes. Drug and non-drug modulations are used to enhance the basic techniques. Results. In the period from 2015 to 2019, 5243 patients were treated in CBI after acute cerebral circulatory disorders and traumatic brain injuries, of which 4273 (81%) needed the help of clinical speech therapists. The most common problem was dysarthria – 55%. Speech breakdown in the framework of aphasia syndrome was noted in 26% of all hospitalized patients. Dysphagia was diagnosed in 30% of all hospitalized patients. During the hospitalization period of 14 days, each patient receives at least 45 minutes of daily individual training with a specialist and group articulation exercises, including weekends. The lesson is preceded by a modulating drug or non-drug procedure. For 5 years, 4273 patients were treated with speech therapy team. In 154 (11.6%) patients, speech therapy syndromes completely regressed, in 28% the severity of their manifestations decreased by 1–2 levels. Conclusion. At the early stage of rehabilitation, the speech therapist is called upon to solve priority tasks: achieving the maximum possible level of independence of the patient, at least staying at home with a minimum level of dependence on the help of a guardian. This is a prerequisite for the implementation of an individual comprehensive rehabilitation program. Despite many methodological and organizational problems, the MST is a key member of the MDRT, without which an effective rehabilitation process is impossible.

FEATURES OF THE ORGANIZATION AND PROVISION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE IN POLTAVA REGION

The aim: Is to study and analyze the dynamics of the indicators of the emergency medical service of the Ukrainian and the Poltava region in the context of the reforms of the healthcare system in Ukraine. Materials and methods: In this work, the indicators of development of the emergency medical service of the Ukrainian and the Poltava region were studied and analyzed. Conclusions: The provision of emergency medical care in the Poltava region is provided by the Poltava Regional Center for Emergency Medicine and Disaster Medicine. The structure of the center includes 4 emergency medical stations, which are located in cities such as Poltava, Kremenchuk, Lubny, Mirgorod. А modern telemedicine center was built іn 2018 for emergency counseling on-line in new directions was carried out: ultrasound and endoscopic diagnostics, radiology, counseling during surgical interventions, laboratory diagnostics, etc. Emergencymedical care reform Poltava Regional should be aimed at increasing the efficiency of the use of resources; provision of the EMC system by the relevant vehicles; qualitative training of doctors in emergency medicine; informatization of the EMC system.

The establishment of a telemedicine center during the COVID-19 pandemic at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan

BackgroundTelemedicine involves the innovative application of technology to provide remote patient healthcare services especially those relating to emergency care and contagious disease spread. Telemedicine is less developed in low-and-middle-income countries like Pakistan and there is little published literature on its function and efficiency. Our institution was established to triage patients with COVID-19 symptoms to ease the load on emergency departments. ObjectiveTo conduct an analysis of the first month of function of a telemedicine/tele-triage center in Pakistan. To determine in which ways it was beneficial to hospital management during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsThis study was carried out at the newly established telemedicine/tele-triage center at the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) in Islamabad Pakistan between the 26th March and the 25th April 2020. Data were collected over telephone interview using a proforma to provide each caller with a C-Score (a C-score of >3 indicated observe at home 3–5-indicated home isolation with confirmatory testing and >5 indicated testing and transfer to hospital) representing their COVID-19 risk and informing the nature of the advice given to them. Data were presented using descriptive statistics. ResultsThe center received total of 857 calls. Fever cough dyspnea and flu were present in 327(38.2%) 268(31.3%) 107(12.5%) and 124(14.5%) callers respectively. Based on the completion of the proforma 774(90.3%) callers had a C-Score of > 75(8.8%) callers had a C-Score of 3–5 and 8 (0.9%) callers had a C-Score of >5. We recommended COVID-19 testing in 83 patients (9.68%) based on C-score. Out of these 83 patients 64 underwent testing and only 1 tested positive for COVID-19. ConclusionIn a one-month period the center was able to support patients by providing a triage service thereby preventing numerous unnecessary hospital visits and helping to protect healthcare professionals during a global pandemic. Telemedicine has great potential to help patient populations in low-and-middle-income countries.

Queries and Satisfaction in Telemedicine Counselling for COVID-19 in West Bengal, India

Introduction: Telemedicine counselling service for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has an immense importance in India. Hard to reach rural areas have more skewed ratio and due to mandatory quarantine during COVID-19, availing physical consultation from doctors has become more difficult. Aim: To find out the queries of the callers in COVID-19 support cell and their satisfaction of this service. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER), Kolkata in May 2021. Total 152 participants were included in the study. Data were collected by telephonic interview using a pre designed pretested interview guide. Queries of the callers to the telemedicine centre were recorded along with their demographics. Satisfaction was measured on a scale of 0-10. Results: Mean age of the patients were 44.5±17.05 years; 114 (75%) callers were male and 93 (61.2%) were from rural areas of West Bengal. There were 78 (51.3%) callers who were repeat callers. The most common query {90 (59.21%)} was “when positive patients would undertake next Rapid Antigen Test (RAT)/Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test to find out whether they were negative.” The mean satisfaction score was 6.29. Conclusion: Telemedicine services were availed by many callers from rural area. The support cell responded to queries like what drugs to be taken and home isolation duration. Majority of the callers felt satisfied after consultation, thus, indicating effective role of teleconsultation.