Subscription of Telemedicine services are said to have increased in the last year due to COVID-19. It became essential due to its convenience and safety to access unlimited healthcare.
It also links patients and medical practitioners to specialists and consultants across the globe.
Hence, the launch in Accra, of a new mobile friendly user application on Telemedicine known as Vien Health, to compliment government’s efforts in attaining the Universal Health Coverage by 2030.
Telemedicine is the remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology.
This means that one requires a mobile phone and internet connectivity. It is common in remote and hard to reach locations.
It defies barriers – the barriers of language, time and doctor- patient- ratio. However, what is special about the Vien Health application is that it enables everyone access to quality healthcare even without network.
It offers a twenty-four-hour service so patients can request to speak to a doctor or specialist through a voice or video call in any local language at any time.
Subscribers will pay a fee of150 cedis and 250 cedis to benefit from the telemedicine services. Patients are given a personalized treatment plan, and manage their own medical records after they have indicated their health needs.
One can also download the Vien Health App on their mobile devices and book an appointment with a doctor at their own convenience.
Ghana’s doctor to patient ratio still remains a challenge compared with the World Health Organization’s standard of one doctor to six hundred patients. Currently the doctor to patient ratio in the country stands at one doctor to eight hundred patients.
While access to quality healthcare particularly in the remote or hard to reach areas in the country is yet to improve, the Chief Executive of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Daniel Asare says he is optimistic that the health app. will compliment government’s agenda of a universal health coverage.
The Vien health telemedicine service also ensures that health coaches are available for patients who need assistance, that is from fitness to nutrition.
