India: doctors use WhatsApp to help stranded locals

The young Doctors on Call come together in prayer before helping patients. (Javed Sultan pic) FMT in partnership with The Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT) brings you Covid-19 “healers” from India. “Doctors on Call” is a team of young doctors providing medical advice to those who can’t get to medical services due to lockdown. Dr. Atif Nasim and Dr. Aman Irshad provide phone consultations, Dr. Azhan Siddiqui delivers advice through WhatsApp, and Abdul Hannan promotes the initiative over social media. Since late March 2020, Doctors on Call have provided teleconsultation to over 500 patients. (Javed Sultan pic) The group initially served a limited number of patients, but after an overwhelming response, they opened it up to the wider public, sharing details of the team on WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. “You have to be patient when talking to patients. You should not look at the time, as they may be in a severe emergency,” says Dr. Abdul Allam Khan. Most patients send photos of their condition to the doctors via WhatsApp. (Javed Sultan pic) Many patients share photos of their condition with the doctors over WhatsApp; sometimes, the team consults individual cases with their mentors before prescribing any medication. Collectively,…
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