Bayanihan E-Konsulta calls for more volunteer doctors amid influx of patients

September 30, 2022 - 11:49 AM
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Telemedicine
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels

The telemedicine initiative of non-government organization Angat Buhay is opening its doors to volunteer doctors amid the influx of patients in need of medical consultation.

Bayanihan E-Konsulta, an initiative that first appeared when former vice president Leni Robredo was still in office, announced that it is looking for more volunteer physicians to cater to its different patients.

The telemedicine program is in need of the following specialists:

  • Mental Health Specialists (psychiatrists and psychologists)
  • Dermatologists
  • Urologists
  • General Surgeons
  • Orthopedic Surgeons
  • Rehabilitation Medicine / Physiatrists
  • Allergologists
  • ENT
  • IM – Pulmonologists
  • General Medicine
  • Other specialists and medical doctors are also very much welcome

Those interested to volunteer need to accomplish two forms — the Doctor Volunteers’ Availability Form and the Doctor Volunteers’ Supplemental Sign Up Form.

The telemedicine is in its second month since the launch of Angat Buhay NGO.

It is open from Wednesday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the first 150 patients.

“Ito po ay upang masiguro na maasikaso lahat ng ating mga pasyente na magre-register,” it said.

Prior to the announcement, some social media users have already raised awareness of the telemedicine’s need for more doctors.

A physician on Tuesday said that the program needs specialists to “cater the continuous influx of patients.”

The Bayanihan E-Konsulta was first launched under the Office of the Vice President during Robredo’s term.

The program helped fill the gaps in the public health care system amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

It offered teleconsultation services, COVID-19 home care kit packages with symptom monitoring sheets, and other medicines for patients.

The call for more doctors came as the Department of Health sees a rise in COVID-19 hospital admissions in the cities of Pasig, Muntinlupa, Malabon, Makati, Navotas and Caloocan.

The DOH also said that while the country’s hospital utilization rate is below 50%, the National Capital Region and 13 of its cities are now at moderate risk for COVID-19.

The NCR logged the highest number of new infections on Wednesday at 13,984 cases.