Doha: Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Urgent Consultation Service has started to provide telephonic consultation with physicians to patients with medical queries related to non-life threatening conditions. 

The service is designed to be more convenient for patients and reduce unnecessary patients’ visits to the hospitals, HMC has said in its social media accounts.  

Patients can call 16000 hotline and chose option 3 where their call will be triaged by a doctor to determine which speciality they should be referred to. The call will then be put through to one of the senior consultants who can access patients’ medical files and consult with them about their case, according to HMC. 

The Urgent Consultation Service operates from 7am to 10pm, seven days a week and offers patients access to 13 specialities. The specialities include urology, orthopedics surgery, internal medicine, general surgery, dermatology, cardiology, ENT, obstetrics and gynecology, dental, pediatrics, neurology, mental health, hematology and oncology.

To recall, on March 28, due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) activated a set of remote access channels to healthcare services at Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) and HMC. 

The health entities in collaboration with TASMU Smart Qatar, MoTC, Hukoomi and Qatar Post along with notable digital solution providers provide the virtual service. The new virtual healthcare services have been developed to ensure the safety of everyone by allowing patients to schedule an appointment with healthcare by dialing 16000 to have a virtual consultation with their healthcare provider, receiving medical advice, sick leave and get their medicine delivered to their doorstep. 

These services are available to all registered PHCC and HMC patients with Health Cards. HMC’s Department of Geriatrics has also launched a virtual clinic for elderly patients to receive consultations in the comfort of their own home. This service has been launched to protect elderly residents in Qatar who have been advised by MoPH to stay at home unless absolutely necessary.
 

SOURCE: THEPENINSULAQATAR