Online video consultation skills for virtual patient care : A telemedicine training module for medical students

Course: Certification Program for Interns

Total Number of Interns Trained: 162

Course Designed & co-ordinated by: Dr. Lavanya SH, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, BGSGIMS (As a part of Project Management & Evaluation of FAIMER fellowship Program, International FAIMER Institute, Philadelphia, 2023 Batch
Dates: 11th & 12th July 2025 @ Audio-Visual Room, BGSGIMS library

Keynote:
The formal telemedicine training for undergraduate medical students is a relatively new concept in the Indian scenario. Except for a few centres offering telemedicine training for residents & postgraduates, medical schools in India do not offer any structured format as part of undergraduate curriculum. Training medicos with additional ‘web-side’ skills may result in improved virtual patient care skills (effective communication, clinical care and ethical skills) amounting to effective and timely, healthcare delivery; in turn, reducing travelling costs, waiting time for consultations and emotional burden on patient & families.
This certification programme, offered by the Department of Pharmacology, BGSGIMS aims to train medical graduates in the above-mentioned areas so that alumni of the Institute are well prepared to provide remote consultations more efficiently and effectively thereby improving patient care.

Program Objectives:
▪ Analyse the Telemedicine scenario in India, differentiate between Telemedicine and Telehealth, Types of consultation
▪ Apply principles of E-prescribing, Ethical & Medico-legal Aspects of Telemedicine in simulated conditions
▪ Prepare workspace for an effective teleconsultation
▪ Demonstrate appropriate web-side etiquettes, verbal & non-verbal communication skills required for initiating an online video consultation

Faculty Trainers & Facilitators:
▪ Dr. Kalpana L, Professor & Head, Department of Pharmacology
▪ Dr. Lavanya SH, Professor, Pharmacology
▪ Dr. Vandana, Postgraduate, Pharmacology
▪ Dr. Sagarika Mazumdar, Tutor, Pharmacology

Program Details:
Following the inauguration of the program by the Dean, Dr. ME Mohan, students underwent training in four interactive modules on Telemedicine in Indian Scenario, Informed consent, E-prescribing & Communication module. This was followed by live demonstration on simulated patient (case-scenario based), hands-on-training (workshop) with critical feedforward. Students were evaluated with a pre & post-test (electronic forms), simulated patient encounter (validated checklist-based) and peer feedback.