ABU DHABI // The country’s first 24-hour telemedicine centre staffed by medical professionals is receiving more than 100 calls a day.

The Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre, a joint venture between Mubadala Healthcare and Swiss company Medgate, aims to reduce the burden on hospital emergency rooms by giving callers medical guidance from the 11 doctors and seven nurses who work there.

The service, which was launched this month, offered exclusively through Daman, to the health insurer’s Thiqa and Enhanced plan members.

“Technology plays a huge role in medicine today and we are using this to complement the existing system and meet the demand for non-emergency cases and provide patients a wider platform,” said Suhail Al Ansari, executive director at Mubadala Healthcare.

“Many people head to emergency rooms although they don’t really need to. Telemedicine also helps to reduce the burden on the emergency rooms,” Mr Al Ansari said.

“It may not be an emergency but people are looking for peace of mind and speaking to a nurse or doctor gives them that. People are technologically adept and are ready for this kind of medical care.”

People call with various problems and a set of guidelines have been provided to those advising patients on the phone.

“Medgate has been involved in telemedicine in Switzerland for the past 15 years and we get nearly 5,000 calls a day,” said Dr Andy Fischer, a board member at Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre and the chief executive of Medgate. He said about 50 per cent of calls were dealt with over the phone.“If we feel that the case requires immediate attention, we ask them to go to an emergency room,” he said.

Ailments such as fever, back pain, gastric problems and obesity-related issues are the most common concerns dealt with in Abu Dhabi.

“We follow up on the patients who call us. We call them after a few hours or so and ask if they are OK, ” said Dr Sameera Alobeidli, a physician at the centre.

“I feel that I am able to spend more time with the patients and reassure them better over the phone than I did when I met them face-to-face. I have had patients call me while they are at hospitals to seek a second opinion on a treatment suggested by the doctor before they go ahead and make a decision.”

Other calls were to do with problems people would feel embarrassed about discussing with a doctor face-to-face.

“In this part of the world, many people feel shy to ask about things such as contraception, bleeding or itching in the genital area. It’s easier for people to discuss these things over the phone,” Dr Alobeidli said.

Telemedicine began as a way for hospitals to extend care to patients in remote areas with no direct access to healthcare providers. So far, it has been employed in at least 85 countries.

arizvi2@thenational.ae