Tele Dentistry
Background
VDC conducted thousands of screening and treatment camps under primary care initiatives. The 3 Tier model initiated with 2 rural referral centers where House Surgeons screen the disease, provide a treatment plan and advise them to visit Tertiary Care centers. We assumed this would be helpful for the people who earlier are not aware about their oral health condition and preventive care. Rural eye care services rely on this model significantly.
However, we soon figured out that Oral health care is an exception..! The perceived need for oral health among the public and the value for it especially among rural areas is noticed to be very less. Any steps to improve the scenario shall combine awareness with access to immediate treatment services; especially curative.
We observed that the preventive care treatments like Oral prophylaxis and restorations are accepted only after their chief complaint, which is majorly severe toothache, is resolved. However, the dental surgeons often need support in coordinating specialized treatment plans.
The wing helps diagnose complex clinical cases, advising on most effective treatment plan and also promptly advise on Tertiary Care visits at early stage
Our Tele-Dentistry unit has full time Oral Medicine and Radiology (OMR) expert monitoring Quality of Patient Care at Secondary Care clinics. The expert tracks the diagnosis records on Vaidhyo (our Electronic Patient Record Management System) to ensure accurate documentation, quality of preliminary examination and treatments.
Doctors say in 60% of the cases the number of visits for the patients are reduced as the treatment plans are effectively made with the help of specialists