Telemedicine Improves Mental Health in COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The gruesomeness and the negative impact of the COVID-19 situation, particularly on the physical and mental health of the people know no bounds. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization has declared this as a pandemic [1,2]. Several countries introduced meticulous steps to restrain physical movement as part of efforts to reduce the infection rate of COVID-19, more and more of us are making considerable changes to our regular lifestyle [3]. People have been facing the new realities of home office, temporary unemployment, home-schooling of children, and keep social distancing with other family members, friends and colleagues take time to get habituated [4]. The repercussions of such episodes not as it negatively affects physical but mental well-being as well [5]. However, it has been seen that with the help of telemedicine, this burden can be reduced as it is convenient during this pandemic situation [6]. The World Health Organization has defined telemedicine as the delivery of health care services at a distance using electronic implies for “the diagnosis of treatment, and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation, education of health care providers” to improve well-being [7]. Telemedicine through telephone and video technology has been used since the 1960s in the sectors of the military and space and its use has been increased significantly in the past decades [7]. However, Pandemics and other public health emergencies typically lead to a surge in demand for medical care, which overwhelms local capabilities [8]. During this COVID-19 situation, it is well documented that to provide rapid access to specialists who are unavailable in person and precisely in non-surgical cases, telemedicine provides the best treatment option.