Covid-19 and the adaptation by iKure in the service offerings……with hints in the way ahead….
Preamble :
Covid-19 has churned out the whole human civilization into an abyss of indefinite uncertainty..withapalling incidents and consequences ,including an unacceptable record of deathsand sufferings worldwide, which has thrown mankind out of gear and the uphill struggle for a safe survival continues, with no sight of a vaccine yet and no definite medical guidelines to resort to, in order to tackle this pandemic in a manageable framework of confidence…within the medical fraternity.
Coupled with this disease menace, is the scenario of economic gloom arising out of job layouts,downsizing of companies, lack of new job prospects etc which is bringing in an enormous amount of despondency and negative affections of mind and body ,unheard of this kind earlier.
iKure being a population service provider enabled by Technology and research oriented objectives,has made an attempt to be a forerunner in the sector of healthcare in rendering its services, during such difficult times, to all stake holders…in more than one novel ways…backed by the skills and expertise of our employees from all walks of training and experience.
Ways in which iKure stood out to adapt to the current unprecedented crisis ..
• Based on the three prongs of prevention…ie..social distancing/usage of barrier tools like masks & hand sanitizers..to say the minimum, iKure has embarked on a path of remote consultation for patients..through the new concept of Telemedicine..which has enabled a large no. of clients/patients to seek medical attention from the safe confines of their homes and the Physicians feeling safe at their point of presence.
• In the events of some subjects/patients approaching our hubs/clinics, the safety measures have been strictly put in place,(with PPE-s etc) to ensure safety of all concerned and a smooth play of operations to continue as earlier…within the norms of recommended prevention guidelines.
• Special measures have been put in place to render door step services( albeit with mutual protection of subjects & staff) to deliver medicinal items/ related consumables and any other medical attention/advice that may need at any point of time…through our field workers ( CHW-s).
• Our Doctors have been attuned to the call of the times , to be sensitive towards our patients, at the same time being on guard to detect suspicious infected cases and do the needful as per the advised protocol of the health authorities.
• Special projects are being undertaken with big business sectors ( such as realty and housing industry) to screen the blue collar workers for Covid-19 by means of well decided clinical vital parameters at site and follow the recommended protocols of suspicion of the infection in any of the persons screened. Our ground staff are physically attending such events with due precautions ,almost on a daily basis,thisfar,and providing a social service in a proactive approach to healthcare.
• A good number of projects for population screening for the Covid-19 infection are on the way, across several locales in the nation, to provide such services with impunity.
• Since a second resurge is feared in this country, as well as elsewhere,theGovt would need more and more private sector operators to enter a PPP in order to tackle the growing menace of this crisis.
• Modalities could be……..allowing screening in the semi-urban areas on a request basis/enabling testing by the private sector liberally without much regulatory protocol and paperwork/leasing ground workers for day to day support to an organization like us, for more community approach to reach out the needy and non-privileged/helping in a proactive manner to set up small check up kiosks in prominent areas where most of the population are expected to visit…etc.
• A recent glaring example of a PPP may be cited by mentioning the launch of a Telemedicine collaboration with theGovt of Nagaland, in joint efforts with another prominent Indian association, to serve the community of Nagaland,which is a hilly terrain basically, in seeking medical attention from Doctors at Govt Health Centresthere.,,by means of remote consultations on general and specific health issues.
• To boost the morale of our staff, iKure had arranged a whole remote session with a ‘clinical psychologist’,to address the common feelings of our employees during this pandemic season, where ‘work from home’ has been the norm, so that alongwith their psyche the productivity does not sag and they can adapt themselves to cope up with any such mental issues in their stride.
The way ahead………
• iKure wishes to plan with foresight ventures involving our service offerings in other states and may be beyond Indian shores based on the success of our initiatives this far.
• More and more Technological advances in the form of devices and tools are being incorporated in our operations, to assist the ground workers for a quicker and better screening with results approaching to the 100th percentile. A robust Telemedicine platform is fine tuned, to enable Physicians to get universal access to an easy going software for navigation and patient prescribing…with maintenance of EMR.
• Work in the Non-communicable Disease area ( NCD) which is the need of the hour in this country ,keeping the Covid-19 affection in mind, is being planned, since this particular virus affects the CVS in a major way, along with other co-morbidities, as surfacing from those who contracted the disease and those who recovered from the illness !
• Some critical research areas are also been looked into, which engages the data acquired in re-guiding us through AI and/or ML mechanisms,
on few members of NCD-s..as the scope may be obtained…such as Diabetes/Hypertension etc.
• Stake holder partnerships are being explored by our business associates for more and more Govt/Pvt. Collaborations and grant providers ,based on our track record of success and innumerable accolades that theOrganisation has achieved by dint of merit amidst tough competitions.
Since the pandemic is far from over yet…we do not know what is in store for mankind ,once the Virus leaves civilization !
Whether we have really achieved Herd Immunity..whether we have managed to eradicate the virus for good..what are the residual signs/symptoms of those who have been affected by the Virus..are only issues that time will tell..and help us unfold..but till then, iKure shall continue with its offerings in healthcare in all possible ways….both traditional and innovative…in nature…to mitigate the health issues in the post-pandemic era.
Dr. Lalmohan Banerjee
Sr. Medical Adviser & Medical Director, iKure
