RCOG World Congress 2023

Impact of telemedicine on antenatal care: An insight into Better India

(Dr Ipsita Mohapatra , Dr Subha Ranjan Samantaray, Mr. Vikash Rai)

INTRODUCTION:

.Adequate antenatal care is imperative for the delivery of a healthy baby to a healthy mother and to lessen maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.

.A wide range of obstetrical services like a consultation with maternal and fetal medicine doctors, genetic consultation, surveillance of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, etc are offered by several tertiary care hospitals through telemedicine.

. In the postpartum period also, telemedicine has been used to enable postpartum follow-up visits and access to lactation consultations.

.Telemedicine (TM) emergence has been profound in using technology to address obstetrics problems in remote and rural places, especially in low-risk pregnancies.

.Antenatal and postnatal care is indispensable for the timely identification of danger and management both before and after delivery.

OBJECTIVES:

Telemedicine is an emerging branch in India and the corona pandemic has rushed telemedicine use in remote societies. Through this study, we made an effort to:

1. Assess the satisfaction level and concerns of antenatal women who availed of the telemedicine facility.

2. Facilitate improved access to antenatal and postnatal care, especially the low-risk pregnancies through telemedicine for patients from remote areas that do not have availability of specialists.

METHODOLOGY:

Study design: Cross-sectional exploratory research

Study population: Antenatal patients who availed of the telemedicine services of AIIMS, Kalyani, India.

Method: Primary data was collected by means of a telephonic survey of all the antenatal women who used telemedicine services of AIIMS, Kalyani based on a preformed questionnaire. A total of 21 questions were included in the questionnaire and included both closed and open-ended questions.

Data for satisfaction with the telemedicine consultation was collected and analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics (version 23).

Statistical analysis: The categorical data were expressed in frequency and percentage, while the continuous data were presented by measures of central tendency and dispersion. Statistical means of those intending to opt for telemedicine in the future or not were compared through t-tests. Determinants of future use of telemedicine were assessed through binary logistic regression.

RCOG World Congress 2023

Impact of telemedicine on antenatal care: An insight into better India

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