ABSTRACT
Background: Telemedicine is the delivery of Health Care Services using information and communication technologies. Most models of Telemedicine in developed countries involve high-cost infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic imposed lockdowns and travel restrictions have highlighted the importance and the necessity of an economically viable model of telemedicine for resource-poor countries like India. Methods: We conducted a prospective study to assess the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of low-cost model of Telemedicine services for regular follow-up as well as for triaging. A combination of WhatsApp/email using smartphones and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system was used to provide Telemedicine services. At the end of the e-consult, the patient/ parents were asked to rate their experience on a scale of 0 to 10. Results: A total of 155 children and 865 consults were included. The mean age of the children was 8.5 years. Forty-four consultations were given to 12 (7.7%) International patients. Thirty-eight (24.5%) patients were seen for the first time via Teleconsultation and the remaining 117 (75.5%) were follow-up patients. The most common diagnosis was Nephrotic Syndrome (51.6%) followed by Chronic Kidney Disease (21.9%), Urinary Tract Infection (10.3%), Kidney-transplant follow-up (6.4%), Acute Glomerulonephritis (3.8%), and Acute Kidney Injury (2.6%). Twenty-three patients were advised admission after the Teleconsultation and the remaining 122 children were advised follow-up e-consults. The mean satisfaction score reported for e-consults was 9.4. Conclusion: Our low-cost Telemedicine model offered a viable modality for delivery of Paediatric Nephrology Services during lockdown period and can be replicated by pediatricians practicing other subspecialties as well.
ABSTRACT
Over the past two years, e-banking services became very popular and safe transaction processes in the context of COVID-19 in Bangladesh. The purpose of this study is to analyze how the pandemic has affected Bangladesh's e-banking system. Using stratified random sampling in a randomized block design, a questionnaire was developed that registered participants' responses on a five-point Likert scale to examine the current state of e-banking during the COVID-19 pandemic (January-February 2022). Survey response data from 200 respondents in the commercial port city of Chattogram, Bangladesh, were delivered and returned via e-mail and hand-to-hand delivery, to enable the researcher to learn users' opinions and e-banking satisfaction levels. To test the hypotheses, the study applied the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the Shapiro-Wilk test, Spearman's rho correlation coefficient, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test. The study found that e-banking infrastructure facility, customer e-banking awareness, and the e-banking security service facility were important determinants in increasing bank e-service quality. The e-banking infrastructure and security services facility impressed younger users more than older customers (mean performance: 3.21 and 2.85 vs. 2.48 and 2.16, respectively). Educational qualifications did not affect perceptions of bank e-service quality, the e-banking infrastructure facility, customer e-banking professional knowledge, customer e-banking awareness, and the e-banking security service facility. Customers reported more fascination with private banks than with government-owned banks regarding bank e-service quality, e-banking infrastructure facilities, and customer e-banking awareness (mean performance: 3.51, 3.17, and 4.19 vs. 2.97, 2.29, and 3.65, respectively). Moreover, income level affected customers' e-banking professional knowledge. © Md. Shahnur Azad Chowdhury, Engg Md. Shahidul Islam, Manjurul Alam Mazumder, Sayma Hoque, Habib Ullah, 2022.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The coronavirus pandemic has restricted access to health-care services for kidney transplant patients because of concerns of COVID-19 infection. This single-center prospective study was done to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of telemedicine services for regular follow-up of kidney transplant patients as well as for triaging patients for admission. Methods: The study was undertaken during the lockdown period in India from March 23, 2020 to June 30, 2020. A formatted message seeking all relevant information was sent before teleconsultation. WhatsApp/email using smartphones and Electronic Medical Records system were used to provide telemedicine services. At the end of the e-consult, the patient was asked to rate his experience on a scale of 0-10. Results: A total of 296 consults for 122 patients were given. Of these, 239 (80.7%) consults (96 patients) were for domestic patients and 57 (19.3%) consults (26 patients) were for international patients. The mean age of the patients was 43 ± 15 years. The mean patient satisfaction score for e-consults was 9.5 ± 0.7. Four (3.3%) patients were seen for the first time after transplant via teleconsultation. Nine (7.4%) patients were advised admission and the rest were advised follow-up teleconsultation. Among those admitted, 6 (4.9%) were COVID positive and 1 (0.8%) patient died of COVID-19 pneumonia. Conclusions: Telemedicine offers a viable modality for health-care delivery when access to health care is restricted for transplant patients. Our model of telemedicine can be replicated easily without the burden of high cost for infrastructure.