Table 5.
Synthesis of challenges and possible solutions of telemedicine from qualitative findings
| Challenges for telemedicine | |
| Challenges to the clinicians | |
| • Unable to carry out the clinical examinations | |
| • Lost to follow-ups of the patients due to no response | |
| • Unable to get the desired investigations | |
| • Issues with getting detailed old reports if patients used to take treatment from somewhere else | |
| • Unable to do the inspection properly and see the reports on live camera | |
| • Difficulty in studying bulk of investigation reports on WhatsApp/mobile | |
| • Certain conditions requiring the physician’s attention are missed or overlooked | |
| • Difficulty in prescribing many psychotropic medications due to strict guidelines | |
| • Patients can not be explained their medical conditions just like in-person visits | |
| • Challenges in making the patient understand the physiotherapy treatment precisely | |
| • The hesitancy of the patients to show their private parts on the video camera | |
| • Breach of privacy due to wider circulation of private mobile numbers among people | |
| • E-illiteracy of patients | |
| • Non-response from patients at the scheduled teleconsultation time | |
| • Call by patients on odd times | |
| • Miscommunication | |
| • Medical disputes and conflicts | |
| Challenges to the patients | |
| • Difficulty in registration and getting a timely appointment | |
| • Issues in getting follow-up dates | |
| • Postponement of dates for operations and follow-ups | |
| • Lack of timely response/communication from department/hospital | |
| • Non-response from doctors over the phone | |
| • Lack of communication by doctors after sending investigation reports | |
| • The doctors do not specify the dosage of medicines and do not answer the queries asked | |
| • Can not understand their condition just like in-person visits | |
| IT/ infrastructure related issues | |
| • Poor internet connection on the patient side | |
| • Poor video/image quality | |
| • Unavailability of labs in remote areas | |
| Possible solutions implemented by the doctors | |
| • By calling the patients to OPDs physically | |
| • By asking patients to send their photos and reports on WhatsApp number | |
| • By asking patients to send the recorded videos and photographs after giving them the necessary instructions | |
| • By convincing patients to be precise while sending the reports | |
| • By asking patients to get investigations done at a nearby lab and report telephonically | |
| • By giving them consultations beyond OPD hours | |
| • By giving sufficient time for counselling patients to mitigate their frustration due to e-illiteracy |