Percept | January 2024
The PRO-Active TElemedicine TaCTical OpeRation (PROTECTOR) project was a telehealth study initiated in Hanover Park in the Western Cape in 2021. Its goal was to understand if telemedicine could be used as part of routine primary healthcare to support at-risk diabetic patients who were struggling to control their sugar levels.
Over the course of three months, pre-selected diabetic patients participated in 10-20 telephonic or virtual engagements with a telemedicine doctor. Besides monitoring blood glucose levels and offering psychosocial and health support, the programme facilitated meaningful reciprocal relationships between patients and doctors, and rendered largely positive health outcomes.
Read the Primary Healthcare (PHC) vignette on “Implementing telehealth interventions for primary care: challenges and possibilities” below.