(Eagle News) – The Department of Health (DOH) assured the public that all doctors answering a new telemedicine hotline that it had recently launched are licensed and certified to provide consultations.
The new 24-7 hotline provided free telemedicine consultations to residents of the National Capital Region (NCR) that began operations on April 7.
In a statement, the DOH said that residents may call the NCR-dedicated hotlines to seek medical advice on COVID-19-related symptoms, or any health-related concerns.
The DOH said that Metro Manila residents can call “the 24/7 telemedicine hotline at 02-8424-1724 to consult with a doctor for COVID-19 medical advice and non-COVID-19 health-related concerns, free of charge.”
The NCR telemed hotline, launched in partnership with TeliMed Management Inc. and Medgate, is in addition to the DOH’s COVID-19 hotlines 02-894-COVID (26843), 1555, and 7798-8000 (KonsultaMD).
Other COVID-19 hotlines are also available, such as the Philippine General Hospital’s COVID-19 Bayanihan Operations Center (Hotline 155-200), and the Lung Center of the Philippines’ COVID Ask Force, a Facebook page where users can post their coronavirus-related concerns.
The DOH and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) has developed a framework for telemedicine services in a bid to improve access to health services during the Enhanced Community Quarantine.
Under the DOH-NPC Joint Memorandum Circular medical consultations over the phone, chat, short messaging service (SMS), and other audio and visual-conferencing platforms are considered telemedicine services in the country. Healthcare providers conducting these consultations are allowed to issue electronic case reports and prescriptions, the DOH said in a statement.
“DOH is maximizing the use of technology to connect the public with medical professionals, allowing them to secure medical advice without leaving their homes,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said, adding that “even healthcare workers can avail of these services themselves through DOH-recognized telemedicine providers.”
The DOH COVID-19 Hotlines 1555 and (02) 894-COVID (26843) are available nationwide for all COVID-19 related concerns including consultations with our volunteer-doctors from the Philippine College of Physicians and the University of the East-Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERMMC).
(Eagle News Service)
