“Any person with a dermatological problem can send us a digital picture showing the problem. We diagnose the problem seeing the picture and advise treatment,” said Dr Dharmendra Karna, a specialist at the hospital´s Dermatological Department. [break]
The service, currently run as an experiment, has already attracted patients, mostly Nepalis, from across the globe.
“We receive four to five emails every day. We reply to the emails giving treatment advice a day after receiving them,” said Dr Karna. The doctor said for those who do not have access to email, the hospital tries to diagnose problems and advise through phone. “Most of the enquiries come from urban areas, including Kathmandu. Most queries are related to problems caused by dust and smoke, apart from cosmetic products,” he said.
Of the total volume of emails received by the hospital, 70 percent come from people living in urban areas. Nepalis living abroad are also among those who are increasingly using the tele-dermatology service.
“Mostly those living in the United States, Canada, Australia, and gulf countries, where medical services are expensive, send us queries. Based on our recommendation, their family members purchase medicine in Nepal and send it to them,” he said.
In case of certain ailments that cannot be cured by only taking medicine or applying lotions, the doctors ask patients to visit hospitals as such problems require laser surgeries.
Surgeries are used to treat problems such as skin marks, wrinkles, moles, hair growth on face, among others. The cost of surgeries range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 4,000.
The hospital claims the cost of cosmetic laser surgeries in foreign countries can go up to Rs 200,000.
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