Impact
-
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic the healthcare systems of several countries came under strain and were even crippled, especially in LMICs, necessitating the exploration of alternate mechanisms for scaling-up healthcare services.
-
Telemedicine can be an invaluable modality for complementing standard modes of pediatric healthcare delivery, not only during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, but also for reducing the inequities that exist in access and delivery of pediatric healthcare in LMICs.
-
A well-coordinated approach in health policy, development of infrastructure, and effective community participation is required for effective integration of pediatric telemedicine in LMICs healthcare systems.
Log in or create a free account to read this content
Gain free access to this article, as well as selected content from this journal and more on nature.com
or
Data availability
Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
References
Bong, C. L. et al. The COVID-19 pandemic: effects on low- and middle-income countries. Anesth. Analg. 131, 86–92 (2020).
Guest, J. L., del Rio, C. & Sanchez, T. The Three steps needed to end the COVID-19 pandemic: bold public health leadership, rapid innovations, and courageous political will. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 6, e19043 (2020).
Sagaro, G. G., Battineni, G. & Amenta, F. Barriers to sustainable telemedicine implementation in Ethiopia: a systematic review. Telemed. Rep.1, 8–15 (2020).
Gudi N., Yadav U. N., John O., Webster R. Challenges and opportunities in employing digital health to address self-management needs of people with NCDs in India BMJ innovations. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjinnov-2020-000620. [Online print accessed on 20 November 2021].
Zhai, Y. A call for addressing barriers to the telemedicine: health disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychother. Psychosom. 90, 64–66 (2021).
James, J. The smart feature phone revolution in developing countries: bringing the internet to the bottom of the pyramid. Info Soc. 36, 226–235 (2020).
Saksena, N., Matthan, R., Bhan, A. & Balsari, S. Rebooting consent in the digital age: a governance framework for health data exchange. BMJ Glob. Health 6, e005057 (2021).
Bukhari, N. et al. Pharmacists and telemedicine: an innovative model fulfilling Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). J. Pharm. Policy Pract. 14, 96 (2021).
Sanchez Gonzalez, M. L. et al. Telemental health training and delivery in primary care: a case report of interdisciplinary treatment. J. Clin. Psychol. 75, 260–270 (2019).
Dash, S., Aarthy, R. & Mohan, V. Telemedicine during COVID-19 in India—a new policy and its challenges. J. Public Health Pol. 42, 501–509 (2021).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Singh, J. The COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity to strengthen telemedicine in low and middle-income countries. Pediatr Res 93, 463–464 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02167-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02167-9