CHENNAI: Afraid you might have symptoms of COVID19? You can now self assess from your mobile, thanks to Apollo Hospital’s new online risk assessment scanner launched a few days back, which helps in online assessment and directs you to a doctor.
Officials with the hospital said that the online scanner at https://covid.apollo247.com is currently available in Chennai and Hyderabad and it is being developed for other cities too.
The online scanner, developed based on the guidelines of WHO and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has a set of questions for the patient to answer.
To begin with, it asks the age, gender and body temperature of the patient. Following this, it asks whether the patient has basic symptoms like cold or cough following which the patient has to answer whether the symptoms are moderate or severe.
The last section has a set of questions such as whether the patient has any travel history or they came in touch with another person who has had similar symptoms including those confirmed with COVID19.
The online assessment also has a set of questions on the patient’s health issues whether they have diabetes, kidney problems, high blood pressure among other issues.
Following this test, the results come up immediately. "If it says high respiratory illness, the website directs the person to consult an online physician. It also further displays the dos and don’ts," said the health official.
As many people fear to leave their houses, officials said, they sometimes may not get tested. "This move will take the assessment to their houses and make people comfortable," added the official.
Meanwhile, it was announced recently that the Apollo hospitals in Chennai will be one of the private testing laboratories for COVID19, along with CMC in Vellore.