According to the data retrieved from covidnow.moh.gov.my, Penang has recorded a daily average of 1649 positive Covid-19 cases through the past 7 days, as of 16 September 2021. Despite Penang’s vaccination rollout gaining commendable traction in the recent months, Covid-19 cases in the state have unfortunately surged. As a matter of fact, our hospital beds and quarantine centres are running low on capacity, and our healthcare system continues to struggle in coping with the spike of cases. This means that more people are required to undergo home isolation or quarantine. On this very note, the Penang State Government understands the public concern that many Covid positive patients require professional medical consultation and advice throughout their isolation period.
As such, the Penang State Government through PGCare Alliance is delighted to announce the launch of PgCare Telehealth Service. This service uses the platform hosted by DoctorTouch and is a joint Corporate Social Responsibility effort by PgCare Alliance & DoctorTouch. PgCare’s Telehealth is one of Malaysia’s first public telehealth service for Covid-19 home quarantine patients, available daily from 9am to 10pm. Through this platform, Covid positive patients undergoing home quarantine can receive remote medical consultation through HD video or phone call, with a panel of medicine volunteer doctors.
It is worth noting that this service is catered to all levels of society, including the B40 and vulnerable communities. Hence, the Penang State Government will be absorbing the RM5 consultation fee for all patients who are undergoing home quarantine in Penang. In other words, this telehealth service for Covid patients will be complimentary to use. Meanwhile, the platform is also available in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin to promote accessibility and inclusivity.
In an event which a patient require any medication, the doctors on DoctorTouch are also authorised to generate ePrescription, which complements PgCare Alliance’s partnership with BIG Pharmacy that delivers the necessary medication to a patient within 2 hours. Before I end my remark this morning, allow me to share that PgCare Telehealth Service has received 11 patient signups, and 8 doctor registrations throughout the past 2 days. We hope more doctors can volunteer their services and join us in this battle against Covid-19. We welcome doctors from all around Malaysia as the consultations will be conducted virtually.
Lastly, I hope this initiative will ease the burden faced by our current healthcare workers and provide patients an alternative option to obtain complimentary medical consultation. More details about this PgCare Telehealth service are available at https://www.doctortouch.com/pgcare or call 04-6427777.
