BENGALURU: The state government has roped in specialists from private hospitals to treat high-risk cases at designated government hospitals, with the state recording a shocking 8.5% average daily increase in cases.
From Wednesday, specialists from Narayana Health (NH) will join the effort to treat patients at Victoria Hospital, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases through “e-rounds.”
Specialists from Manipal Hospitals and Columbia Asia Hospitals are already assisting the government doctors in other parts of the state. Doctors from Columbia Asia have been working with their counterparts at government hospitals in Bengaluru for the past three days.
Senior citizens, children below 10 years, and those with comorbidities, tested positive, are categorised as high-risk cases who require higher attention from specialists. Senior IAS officer Dr Trilok Chandra, who heads the Covid-19 Critical Care Support Committee, and his team are closely monitoring the treatment of high-risk cases. Of 5,512 such cases, 1,639 have been discharged after treatment, while 3,694 are being treated.
Explaining the concept of “e-rounds” or virtual consultations, Dr Chandra said depending on a specific case, a cardiologist, intensivist, nephrologists or a pulmonologist will discuss details with doctors treating them at government hospitals and if required, suggest modifications in treatment or drugs. NH specialists will be on ‘e-rounds’ twice a day and, along with government doctors, they will closely monitor the course of treatment and patient’s condition to ensure early recovery, the officer said.
Unlike in Tele-ICU facility that has been set up in hospitals in Kalaburagi, during ‘e-rounds’, the specialists will not get live feeds from hospitals, but details about patients’ condition and treatment. However, in cases where specialists need to see patients to assess their condition, the hospitals will send them video footage.
While late reporting has been one of the main reasons for the increase in mortality rate among Covid cases, ‘e-rounds’ by specialists are likely to help pool in expertise and utilise all available resources in the fight against the pandemic.