Emerging Trends in the times of Coronavirus
COVID-19, the new coronavirus infection, has stretched to 185 countries and regions of the world in 16 short weeks. Lockdown has been imposed to control the spread of infection among people. Due to this pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the healthcare industry is witnessing different emerging trends across the globe relating to health maintenance. People are relying more and more on teleconsultations and telemedicine instead of traditional options. Online healthcare companies like myUpchar are catering to this demand with the fullest of their potential. Let’s have a look at the emerging trends in the times of Coronavirus:
1. Health content consumption has grown by 30% Sudden impact of a virus has certainly increased people's concern towards their health. People are now learning about boosting immunity and controlling their already existing health conditions. To learn about these topics, people are taking aid from online healthcare content platforms like myUpchar. Not only websites, Youtube content on health is also seeing a huge increase. People are now bothered more about health, be it their own or their family members’.
2. Online consultations are coming to the rescue During this crisis, a lot of private clinics are non functional. In such scenarios, people rely on big hospitals to avail consultation services. This puts you in a dual risk situation. Firstly, traveling far in a lockdown situation is already a challenge in itself, given all the instructions and strictness from the government. Secondly, there’s a high risk of catching the infection as hospitals are regularly being visited by infected people. So, people are turning more towards online consultations. They can avail quality consultations over call and can also get a prescription. Follow-on consultations are also easy, as patients can share their test results on email or WhatsApp, and call again to take the doctor’s opinion.
3. Medicine e-commerce is the new normal This corona situation has impacted the e-medicine industry extensively. Due to the lockdown, people are preferring to buy medicines online instead of going down to the store and purchasing it. This not only saves the struggle of reaching the market but also saves the person from getting infected. Although pharmacies are still functioning, they do receive a heavy footfall which is surely a risk factor for a healthy person. Online medicine delivery companies are delivering medicines at doorsteps with proper safety measures both for the buyer and the delivery guys.
4. Greater interest in verified health news
The coronavirus outbreak has shown us that misinformation and myths travel fast - perhaps even faster than the virus that is at the root of this pandemic. Users expect accurate and reliable information. We are seeing a trend in increased fact-checking by health-conscious consumers of the news.
5. Understanding that different members of the family may have different health requirements People older than 60 and those with chronic ailments are at higher risk of getting severely ill if they get COVID-19 infection. This awareness is fostering a new understanding in India where three generations often live together: grandparents, parents, kids.
This appreciation of the different health requirements of different members of the family will eventually help to bridge the gender and age gap in healthcare in India.
6. Increase in awareness around mental health issues A prominent part of the population of the world got affected by corona and we recorded a considerable number of deaths. Due to this, a large number of people are getting affected mentally and the subsequent lockdown has further added to the adversity for such people. In such times, depression and anxiety are likely to occur. So, people are now focusing on their and their loved ones’ mental health.
