To help people exposed to the virus and who have to self-isolate, Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) recently launched a Telemedicine service that provides free consultations and medicines and multivitamins for patients undergoing self-isolation. This service can be accessed through the thread rawatcovid-sumut.usu.ac.id

Covid-19 Telemedicine is a health service resulting from a collaboration between USU and the Medan City Government and the North Sumatra Provincial Government.

This application offers health services to individuals exposed to COVID-19. Various services can be accessed online, so individuals exposed to COVID-19 can consult a doctor without having to come to the hospital.

Initiator and Main Coordinator of Telemedicine dr. Inke Nadia Diniyanti Lubis M.Ked (Ped)., Sp.A, Ph.D said that USU Telemedicine was previously launched in August 2021. This Telemedicine is USU's commitment to providing health services to the community.

"Since July 2021, we have been preparing this until it was finally launched in August 2021. This has been around for some time. Initially, the public was unfamiliar with this service, so we offered it to patients who entered the ER. After being treated and recommended for home isolation, we use Telemedicine to monitor the patient's health development," said dr. Inke.

The Vice Dean III of the Faculty of Medicine also explained that Telemedicine is one solution to the increasing number of positive Covid-19 cases.

According to him, everyone has the right to receive health services, but health facilities are often inadequate to accommodate all these patients.

"With this Telemedicine, we open up opportunities for all people to be served. Someone who feels exposed to COVID-19 can consult and be examined through the application. Of course, this allows the hospital to focus more on people exposed to Covid-19 at a severe level. As a result, the entire community can be served," he said.

In dealing with the increase in the Omicron variant, dr. Inke said that telemedicine is ready for public use. He advised the public not to panic when faced with this variant, even though it is known that it is highly contagious.

"The public should not panic, even though the transmission is fast. We hope that the public, especially in North Sumatra, can maximize the use of Telemedicine. Telemedicine is a complete service; all services provided are free," he explained.

USU's COVID-19 Telemedicine is a health service that is available audiovisually. Registered patients will be sent antiviral drugs, multivitamins, and monitoring devices. The monitoring devices are Pulse Oximetry and Thermometers. These devices help doctors monitor the patient's health. All of these services are free of charge.

The USU Information System Center developed this service. The volunteers who play a role are USU academics, consisting of at least 446 doctors and 207 USU students. These student volunteers are divided into several units: administration, doctor's companions, and pharmacy. All these volunteers are unpaid and purely a form of service and dedication to the community.

The public using this service can visit the link rawatcovid-sumut.usu.ac.id. After clicking registration, patients will be asked to fill in their complete personal data. In addition, a series of questions regarding the patient's medical history will be asked. These questions will help the doctor assess the patient later.

If needed, patients can also upload videos or selfies related to their condition at that time.

After all the forms are filled in via the link, the patient can begin the consultation and examination process. Telemedicine will connect the patient with the doctor on duty randomly. The communication is automatically connected to the doctor's WhatsApp. The doctor will then conduct a further examination of the patient. (RR)

Author: Roni Hikmah Ramadhan - USU Public Relations

Interviewee: dr. Inke Nadia Diniyanti Lubis M.Ked (Ped)., Sp.A, Ph.D - USU Faculty of Medicine

Photographer: Public Relations - Universitas Sumatera Utara