CHENNAI: Apollo Hospitals on Thursday launched a free tele-access facility that general physicians and nursing homes can use to get advice from Covid critical care experts on treatment. According to a statement issued by Apollo on Thursday, this will prevent them from adopting unproven therapies with potential harm and empower them to offer the correct evidence-based therapy at the right time even to patients at home and at smaller nursing homes.
Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The second wave of Covid infections has led to a shortage of trained resources for proper management of patients. Through this initiative, we are sharing our experience in best practices with doctors and nursing homes who may not have the complete knowledge of high-end critical care.”
The shortage of qualified health care providers has led to a situation where unproven therapies with potential harm are being prescribed even if not indicated, often due to lack of expert advice, he said pointing to the unscientific demand for Remdesivir and oxygen facilities among mild to moderately symptomatic patients. Doctors and nursing homes can call from 8 am to 8 pm from Monday to Saturday.