The Ministry of Public Health has launched an online survey to assess the national telehealth services that were introduced and provided throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘Survey to Explore Attitudes and Satisfaction with Telehealth Services in Qatar During the COVID-19 Pandemic,’ has been launched together with World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH).
Public can take part in the short survey and share their experience using Qatar’s telehealth services. Link of the survey is available on the Ministry’s social media accounts.
Launched in March 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of face-to-face outpatient appointments, the Urgent Consultation Service at Hamad Medical Corporation(HMC) and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) offered consultations to patients with urgent, but non-life-threatening conditions via telemedicine, with video or audio consultation options.
“Telehealth has played a crucial role in addressing some of the key challenges in providing healthcare services during the COVID-19 outbreak. We have been able to provide continuous care to the community, despite the enforced restrictions on social distancing. Telehealth has helped healthcare providers all over the world minimise the risk of transmission, through the facilitation of remote service provision,” said the Ministry.
The Urgent Consultation Service offers patients a range of services, including consultations, new prescriptions, prescription refills, referrals to OPD clinics, referrals to health centres and emergency department, issuing health numbers for visitors, and reviewing lab test results and clinical imaging reports when no medical appointments required in the clinic.
“While the potential of telehealth services remains vast and largely unexplored, it is important to first assess the current available services in order to improve the experience for both providers and patients alike. Therefore, this survey aims to gather information from those patients who have accessed the telehealth services in Qatar, for the purpose of quality improvement,” said the Ministry.
The questions in the survey are directly related to the telehealth consultation, prescription refills, and referrals. It also asks for recommendations to further enhance the services.
The Ministry has assured that all answers will be treated in complete confidence and no personal identification data is requested.
