Governor Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Shah Farman has formally inaugurated telemedicine project at Khyber Medical University, Peshawar. The underlying objective of the project is to provide online medical consultative services free of cost to deserving people and reduce burden on government hospitals, private hospitals and clinics during these times of COVID-19 pandemic. Project Director Dr. Abdul Jalil Khan, while giving briefing to the Governor, told that telemedicine has made considerable progress in terms of therapeutic and medical advice.
Taking history from a patient, his physical examination and clinical investigation are the part and parcel for reaching to the correct diagnoses of a disease by a consultant doctor. History of patients reveals symptoms; physical examination gives signs, and clinical investigation confirms the findings about the type of diseases. This system of telemedicine is only practical and sustainable for minor ailments. Online consultative medical services help getting history of patient about the compliant he is feeling. It is quite mind boggling that how can a medical consultant would be able to reach a correct diagnoses about a disease when he skips the other two mandatory procedures of physical examination and clinical examination. The symptoms of ordinary flu and coronavirus infection are identical. How can online medical consultative services be beneficial for differentiating between these two different diseases when physical examination and clinical investigation are not done? Apparently, telemedicine approach seems untraditional. However, this initiative is appreciable during this grim scenario of prevailing corona epidemic for the benefit of the people through the project of E-medicine.
