Estonian health tech innovator Viveo Health has made its telemedicine platform "Virtual Office for Doctors" free to doctors and medical professionals worldwide. The release comes in line with the increased demand for reliable remote consultation platforms to accommodate safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The "Virtual Office" accommodates chat, phone and video functions and works both offline and online, meaning that patients have optimal access to their care providers and a choice of consultation method according to how they feel most comfortable.

WHY IT MATTERS

Virtual Office for Doctors was designed with the medical profession in mind and offers a centralised platform to accommodate not only remote consultations but also emails, an appointments calendar, EMR access and secured note-taking capabilities.

Viveo Health has implemented safety and security measures in every aspect of its platform, which is GDPR, HIPAA and PCI DSS 3.2 compliant.

THE LARGER PICTURE

Even though Estonia was already considered a model for digital healthcare integration before the crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on the need for strong technological ecosystems within healthcare there and across the globe, encouraging investment in telemedicine, long-term implementation of telehealth tools and enhanced interoperability of electronic medical records.

However, with the surge in uptake of telehealth, some health inequalities have also come to light, particularly barriers to use, such as age, which can mean some of the most vulnerable in society are unable to access these healthcare innovations.

ON THE RECORD

“During these unprecedented times, the health sector is under extreme pressure to continue providing health services to patients in a safe and secure way. This has led to an alarming rise in the number of unsuitable communication tools used for patient consultations such as Zoom and WhatsApp that were not designed for use by medical professionals,” said Raul Källo, the founder and CEO of Viveo Health.

“We have seen a vital opportunity to provide help during this crisis and offer our platform free of charge to ensure that doctors and patients around the world have access to virtual healthcare securely. With uncertainties around the future impact of coronavirus, digital healthcare will have an important role to play in not just months but years to come.”

“Estonia is the first truly digital society and in this crisis, we are turning our eyes to technology to provide aid and support to other countries around the world,” added Kersti Kaljulaid, the president of Estonia. “Making health care more digital is definitely one stream we will see evolving as the result of the crisis. The shift from physical consultations to telemedicine will not only save people's lives but thanks to increased efficiency also save time and resources that can be used elsewhere.”