Telemedicine during COVID-19- Benefits by Dr. Sunny Handa Brampton
                     Telemedicine during COVID-19: Benefits by Dr. 
Sunny Handa Brampton
As the COVID-19 virus wreaks havoc with the healthcare system, telemedicine is stepping up into the 
spotlight and helping healthcare provider organizations and caregivers better respond to the needs of 
Americans who have contracted the virus and Americans who need to touch base with their providers 
on the status of their health.
Dr. Sunny Handa Brampton says Telemedicine is making a very positive contribution to healthcare 
during the pandemic, and is being used in a variety of ways. But telehealth technologies do have certain 
limitations when it comes to treating patients during a pandemic. Further, there is a chance 
telemedicine could add to hospitals being overwhelmed, unless it’s used well. But hospitals are learning 
to adapt to telehealth during a pandemic.
How telemedicine is being used in the context of COVID-19
During this global pandemic, telehealth is emerging as an effective and sustainable solution for 
precaution, prevention and treatment to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Telehealth is bridging the gap between people, physicians and health systems, enabling everyone, 
especially symptomatic patients, to stay at home and communicate with physicians through virtual 
channels, helping to reduce the spread of the virus to mass populations and the medical staff on the 
frontlines, said Dr. Sunny Handa Brampton. Critically, hospitals are quickly adopting telehealth to treat 
quarantined patients infected with COVID-19, he added.
“In addition, the CDC is urging the public and medical staff to use telehealth solutions for non-urgent 
communication in an effort to reduce the pressures facing emergency rooms and clinics,” Dr. Sunny 
Handa Brampton explained. “By deploying telehealth solutions and programs, people who are suffering 
from other medical ailments during this time can receive care from home, without entering medical 
facilities, minimizing their risk of contracting the virus.”
Telemedicine is being used extensively in the “forward triage” of patients long before they arrive in the 
primary care clinics, said Dr. Sunny Handa Brampton.
Minimizing risk to healthcare workers
“The primary care physicians are working tirelessly in the frontlines at ground zero,” he Dr. Sunny Handa
Brampton said. “With MaNaDr, we’re able to divide the patients into the at-risk and not-at-risk groups. 
Appropriate measures can then be taken to minimize the risks to healthcare workers and patients. The 
right actions can then be taken for the patients who have been pre-screened, saving precious time and 
minimizing risks of transmission to all.”
Many chronic patients can from home have scheduled teleconsultations to avoid face-to-face clinic visits
and hence minimize their risks of exposure to COVID-19, Dr. Sunny Handa Brampton added.
 “Chronic medicine can be delivered to their house,” Dr. Sunny Handa Brampton noted. “Also, many in-
clinic visits with mild acute respiratory infection can be followed up very closely, almost on a daily basis. 
Should there be any changes in their clinical states; appropriate actions can be taken immediately. 
Telemedicine provides a 24/7 lifeline for patients to connect to their providers. This offers great comfort
and assurance to the patients in these trying times.”