TORONTO: A research team from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) at the University of Toronto is attempting to adopt telemedicine to manage chronic diseases in Pakistan to see if city professionals may use it to assist rural health care.
According to a press release, the team will use digital technologies like the ECHO teaching platform to allow senior doctors in Karachi to coach health workers and see patients in rural areas of Punjab province. Patients will also get access to a smartphone app that will help them keep track of their blood pressure and sugar levels.
Chronic illness care in many parts of Pakistan has "broken apart," according to Xiaolin Wei, the research lead and an Associate Professor at DLSPH, with rates of diabetes and hypertension rising and people stopping treatment due to high costs.
The researchers will concentrate their efforts on treating vulnerable patients and providing remote COVID-19 treatment and education.
