Remote Consultations Touted For Elderly Patients

A team of experts from the Chinese University have suggested doctors use video conferencing technology with elderly dementia patients, or those suffering from chronic conditions, during the coronavirus pandemic.

They’ve called on the government to provide this vulnerable group with more assistance, and say ‘telemedicine’ would allow these patients to stay at home and avoid the risk of exposure to infection.

One of the doctors on the team, Lisa Au, acknowledged that video conferencing alone could not be used to assess some diseases adequately.

But she said, "There are also a vast majority of symptoms or disease that we can offer some medical recommendations." Au added that this would also allow doctors to speak to caregivers, to help lessen their stress during this time.

The experts cited data from the UK which suggests a higher mortality rate among elderly coronavirus patients who also suffer from conditions such as dementia, diabetes, strokes or heart disease.

They said Hong Kong figures point to a similar trend, although the sample pool here is too small to come to a definite conclusion just yet.