Click if you are sick

Mobile medics are passe. Well-being websites are the latest on the Capital's health block

Click if you are sick

Mobile medics are passe. Well-being websites are the latest on the Capital's health block

New-age medical centres in the city have graduated from white coats to white-collared ease, with premium services now available at a mere click of the mouse.

Manipal Hospital has lauched an online health information toolu00a0Manipal Symptom Checker. With this first-of -its-kind service, people can key-in their symptoms online to learn about the associated diseases.

"With this, we want to partner with the public in creating general health awareness, apart from suggesting the best possible treatment," said R Basil, the CEO of Manipal Health Systems.

This is not all. Healthcare is creating new dimensions. Diagnostic centres are now offering door-to-door service and sending medical test reports online.

Dr Lal PathLabs is one such big player, offering the e-report service.

It not only collects test samples from home but also delivers and updates the reports on its website.

"It's often inconvenient to visit labs for tests, and this facility is especially helpful for elderly patients," explained OP Manchanda, CEO of the firm.

Apart from these general diagnostic gateways, another specialised portal is Eyeway. Launched on March 3, it aims to help the visually-challenged with information on eye disorders, news, services, education, career guidance, rehabilitation, parenting, legal provisions, recreation and stories of inspiring blind achievers.

"One day, we would be in every home in the country," said George Abraham, CEO of Score Foundation, the organisation behind this project.

The big question is, are Internet-savvy Delhiites buying the idea yet? "Yes, I wouldn't mind surfing such a well-being guide, especially if it's free of cost. You see, there's never enough time for a general check-up," said Anshul Pundir, a software engineer.

Others like media execcutive Diwash Gahatraj, however, aren't quite in favour of virtual relief. "I wouldn't want to go by a website's healing measures, and would prefer a live doctor any day," he said.

Medical experts recommend the mean path. "As long as such websites are used only for corroborating reports and symptoms, it's alright," affirmed Dr Amit Verma, director, Medical Operations Group, Fortis, but warned that such assistance must never become the primary source of treatment. "Often, technical terms are hard to decipher, and it's best to walk up to a clinic for direct aid."

But one thing is certain,u00a0 the Web now seems to be on a mission to make up for all the illness it's causing!