Feasibility of using Telemedicine for Nephrotic Syndrome in children - The Jiyyo Mitra E - Clinic Model

Abstract

Childhood nephrotic syndrome is a common glomerular disease. Most (over 90%) of the children with nephrotic syndrome have minimal change disease wherein the remission of proteinuria is achieved in 90% with steroid treatment. While the goal of initial therapy is to maximize sustained remission, many patients experience multiple relapses during childhood, leading to significant morbidity and frequent hospital visits. The disease though treatable in majority has a chronic course with relapses for many years before complete remission. This leads to frequent hospital visits for specialist consults. All this puts a huge physical, economic and emotional burden on the caregivers. With the advent of technology in healthcare and focus on remote consultation it is important to reduce the burden of caregivers of such patients without compromising on patient treatment. We report here a case of an 18-month-old child diagnosed as Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome treated via a telemedicine platform Jiyyo Mitra E- clinic (JMEC) located 20 km from her village which is an assisted Telemedicine platform powered with AI analytics focused on providing healthcare in remote/rural areas. Its asset-light model can penetrate thousands of geographies by upgrading local medical professionals, and over 1400 Pharmacists/ Healthcare workers/ Primary health clinics / Village doctors in 200 districts and 11 states have connected themselves with mainstream health care through e-Clinic, providing better healthcare services in their neighbourhood. This study showed how smoothly and successfully a chronic pediatric ailment is managed via such remote consultation.