Private healthcare facilities have started a number of initiatives to support the efforts in curbing the spread of COVID-19 in Qatar. Private hospitals and clinics have implemented new measures and are raising awareness of COVID-19, while adhering to instructions by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH). Several healthcare providers have started teleconsultation and started social media campaigns and are holding webinars to raise awareness among the public.
“At Aster DM Healthcare, we have seen teleconsultation is taking a huge leap and many patients are experiencing teleconsultation for the first time in Qatar. We really appreciated the steps taken by MoPH by permitting virtual teleconsultation which is helping patients in hassle-free consultation and combating COVID-19 by reducing patient visits to healthcare facilities. “Technology is only an enabler, not an end by itself. We have seen many patients who were not keen to visit healthcare facilities due to fear of getting COVID-19 which was one of the potential barriers in ensuring the continuity of care,” Dr. Mahesh Patel, Head of Quality Assurance at Aster Qatar, told The Peninsula.
“To a large extent, teleconsultation has bridged that gap The decision when to limit the use of teleconsultation and insist on a face-to-face consultation is always a clinical decision based on patient condition and patient needs. Aster is expecting demand for teleconsultation will continue to grow rapidly. “Due to COVID-19, enforced habits of today will become the new normal, as we keep listening life will never again be the same in the after COVID-19 era. Soon obligatory preferences of today will switch to a default mode. Aster DM Healthcare is keen to offer futurist service during the post COVID-19 era, adhering to regulatory guidelines to ensure patient safety and quality of services,” he added.
Aster DM Healthcare also delivers medicines at home and have hosted several webinars by it doctors to educate the public about COVID-19. As part of the Al Ahli Hospital’s heightened infection control measures, in response to the spread of COVID-19, a committee has been formed to implement strategical measures. A stricter visitor restrictions are in place at the hospital. Before entering the clinical areas; all guests, caregivers and staff undergo temperature screening and complete a declaration form on their current health status, recent travel and recent contact with COVID-19 patients. “At Al Ahli Hospital, we strictly follow the guidelines of WHO and MoPH to curb the spread of COVID-19.
All measures are in place to protect the guests and our staff in every possible way. We have implemented some strategies to respond to the crisis and we have been quite rapid in terms of implementing,” said Dr. Abdulazim Abdul Wahab Hussain, Medical Director of Al Ahli Hospital. “From the very beginning of the spread of the COVID-19, we have establish an initial screening, so that everyone coming into the hospital is screened on entry, using WHO criteria.
Also questions are asked to identify risk factors, fever, signs and symptoms of COVID-19, travel history and contact with the suspected cases. Based on those assessments we fast-track the guests to the relevant department,” he added.
