HKT’s one-stop telemedicine platform DrGo announced a partnership with River Cam Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture Clinic and South Kwai Chung Social Service Office to launch the Kwai Tsing TCM Telemedicine Programme, providing 100 free Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) video consultation service sessions for residents living in the Kwai Tsing district.
The Kwai Tsing TCM Telemedicine Programme offers patients a 30-minute telemedicine video consultation, prescribed medication for a minimum of two days (if a prescription is provided), as well as medicine delivery service to a designated address. The programme aims to provide TCM care to eligible Kwai Tsing district residents (with a quota of 100), including those with long COVID symptoms, to help them improve their quality of life in the post-pandemic world.
DrGo is now one of Hong Kong’s leading telemedicine platforms, connecting users with over 12 medical partners and 100 medical experts to provide video consultation in general practice and eight specialist categories, including TCM, paediatrics, psychological health and family medicine, as well as remote monitoring and chronic disease management.
The South Kwai Chung Social Service Office previously partnered with DrGo to provide free telemedicine services for elderly citizens and the chronically ill. With this new initiative, they are partnering again to launch the TCM telemedicine service programme. Ms Lo, who is currently in her 60s, was diagnosed with COVID-19 at the start of this year. After recovery, her symptom of shortness of breath has gotten more severe, even after only walking for a short period of time.
Through participating in the Kwai Tsing TCM Telemedicine Programme, she only needs to walk a few minutes to the South Kwai Chung Social Service Office where she is accompanied by a social worker and receives video consultation from a TCM practitioner for her respiratory illness. In addition to saving her the time to travel to a physical TCM clinic, it makes attending follow-up sessions more convenient.
Another programme participant is Mr Tsang, who is in his 70s and has suffered from eczema for years. As he lives near the South Kwai Chung Social Service Office, the one-stop TCM video consultation service with same-day medicine delivery of the Kwai Tsing TCM Telemedicine Programme motivated him to tackle his health issue that had been affecting him for years. To further drive community awareness of the Kwai Tsing TCM Telemedicine Programme, DrGo arranged for a truck to travel around the Kwai Tsing district to promote the service, explain the programme and help those who are interested to sign up for DrGo.
Teresa Ng, Chief Commercial Officer of DrGo
DrGo is committed to upholding its corporate social responsibility and contributing to the community. To date, DrGo has provided free video consultation services to more than 1,500 people in need. Through launching the Kwai Tsing TCM Telemedicine Programme and expanding DrGo’s free services to TCM for the first time, we hope to allow patients who require TCM to experience the convenience of video consultation services, which can also help treat their long COVID symptoms.
Alan Hoi-Lun Koo, Consultant Practitioner of River Cam Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture Clinic
TCM plays an integral role in treating chronic illness. During the COVID-19 outbreak, TCM has proven to be effective in alleviating symptoms and treating sequelae, as well as rehabilitation during recovery. Yet, many patients who have refrained from going out during the epidemic have been unable to attend follow-up sessions, which in turn affected treatment effectiveness and recovery pace. Through technology advancements, patients can now take part in thorough TCM video consultations with TCM practitioners while eliminating the hassle of travel and geographical limitations.
