Good Doctor Technology Thailand (GDTT), subsidiary of Good Doctor Technology (GDT), a regional health-tech company with the vision of providing ‘One Doctor for One Family in SEA’, announces the beginning of its participation in the program of providing out-patient care (OPD) for Covid-19 patients. Patients who have COVID-19 antigen test result showing two lines, and who are asymptomatic or show mild symptoms, can now be treated by GDTT according to new MPH guidelines on Outpatient Treatment with Self Isolation, also known as “Meet, Give Away and Complete”[1].
Unlike patients under the Home Isolation (HI) program, who need to register via the 1330 hotline and then wait to be allocated to a NHSO designated hospital, patients under the OPD “Meet, Give Away and Complete” programme can register immediately at any NHSO-approved clinic without a referral document, and then take care of themselves with medicines prescribed at home. The treatment can be obtained from GDTT, which is a NHSO’s partner to deliver OPD care to Covid-19 patients. GDTT offers this service through the SCB SPRING UP mobile application. Patients with positive ATK test results can straight away get direct access to GDTT’s out-patient care, receiving medical consultations via the app, as well as having prescribed medicine delivered to their doorsteps.
Dr. Athaporn Limpanylers, Deputy Secretary-General from NHSO, said that after the Ministry of Public Health updated the protocol for treating Covid-19 patients in the green group, those under the OPD care (“Meet, Give Away and Complete”) can wear masks to see the doctor and stay at home like other outpatients. To facilitate this protocol, NHSO launched several new initiatives, including collaborations with the Pharmacy Council which invited more than 700 pharmacies across the country to join the network where patients can get their medicines. Another new initiative launched by NHSO was onboarding the SCB’s SPRING UP application, which has a built-in online doctor’s consultation service provided by Good Doctor Technology (Thailand). Through this partnership initiated by NHSO, the service has also been made available to Covid-19 patients in the green group.
“The Ministry of Public Health has predicted three scenarios after the Songkran festival which are low, moderate and high number of infections. We have prepared for the worst case scenario by making as many services available as possible. If patients are experiencing moderate symptoms they should go to the hospital. But if they are in what we call the green group – which means they do not have any underlying diseases and are not elderly – they will have three different options open to them. Patients can either refer to a nearby hospital or drugstore to pick up their medicines. Another option is to consult a doctor via telehealth services, for example, via the SPRING UP app. The third option is the Home Isolation program, which may be more convenient for those staying with their families. Which option is more preferable depends on individual circumstances,” he added.
“We are humbled to have the opportunity to continue supporting NHSO with their newly launched OPD care initiative. With our experiences of delivering more than 15K virtual consultations to COVID-19 patients under the NHSO HI programme, we will continue to leverage on technology, to enhance the patient experience when seeking covid treatments”, said Dr. Sudhichai Chokekijchai, Head of Medical Team of Good Doctor Technology Thailand (GDTT). “The registration process is very simple — patients only need to attach a photo of a positive ATK-test result and fill in a short questionnaire about their symptoms, as well as personal information, like full name, address, and phone number. Then our staff will carry out a preliminary check to see if the patient meets the OPD criteria — if everything is fine, we contact the patients back, confirm their identity and provide access to consultations right away. After confirming the symptoms, the doctor will prescribe medications which will be immediately ordered from one of our pharmacy partners. We work with more than 450 locations, so we aim to deliver the medicine to the patient’s doorstep within one hour by a Grab messenger. And after 48 hours the doctor will follow up on the patient again”.
“Thanks to NHSO, who have recognized the value of digital-first healthcare services for mass adoption during COVID-19, GDTT has accumulated a lot of experience providing telemedicine support for patients who needed medical care at speed. We’ve helped almost 5000 patients to date and recorded the highest daily patient rate of more than 700 patients, delivered over 25,000 packages of food, medicine and medical devices,” said Melvin Vu, Regional CEO of Good Doctor Technology. “95% of our patients give us a 5-star satisfaction rating, which provides us with confidence in our technology, and even more importantly — in our medical team’s professionalism. With NHSO’s newest OPD care initiative, we can look forward to more rapid and nationwide adoption of telemedicine solutions for long term health care management”.
GDTT was appointed as a virtual healthcare provider under the National Health Security Office (NHSO) Home Isolation (HI) Programme in August 2021. Since then, GDTT has gained first-hand experience in delivering critical healthcare services at speed and continues to fight against the current wave of COVID-19 omicron variant cases, providing support to patients on Home Isolation programme. GDTT continues to provide patient care under HI programme via the GDTT standalone mobile application. The clinic’s OPD care telemedicine support is available within the SCB’s SPRING UP app.
Source: Midas Communications International