Hospitals step up virtual game for young parents amid the pandemic

Virtual emergency rooms, smart wearables to track foetal heart rate and temperature are some of the new initiatives in the space

For working couple the Sinhas (name changed), the night of June 23 brought panic along with it. Their three-month-old son suddenly got high fever after dinner and the parents immediately wanted to consult a doctor as they did not know what to do in such a situation. Because of the Covid fear around, they did not want to go to a hospital either. As the son had been delivered at the Motherhood Hospital in Bengaluru, they contacted the customer care service of the Bengaluru branch, which directed them to the virtual emergency room where a consultation was done at around