According to a recent survey conducted by the Indian Psychiatry Society, there has been a 20 per cent rise in mental illness cases. The lockdown has completely changed people’s lifestyle as their movements are restricted. Isolation, social distancing, uncertainty in jobs, constant fear of contracting the virus are causing panic and anxiety attacks among the people. Online consultation at Practo which is growing at a rate of 100% week on week has been seeing a steep rise in the number of consults coming in for Psychiatry. 

According to the Practo Health Insights, 

• Online queries for Psychiatry on Practo’s eConsult platform grew by 50% in the last two weeks. 

• Most of the queries are coming from people in the age group of 21-30 
• There has been a significant increase in the number of consultations coming from people aged 60 and above. People in this age group are the second largest group in terms of mental health queries, only behind people in the 21-30 age group
• 74% of all mental health-related consults come from men, while 26% were from women
• Queries on mental health grew by 80% in the metro cities in the last two weeks while consultations in tier 2+ cities grew by 35%
• Most of the queries related to mental health were from Delhi NCR, followed by Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai.
• In Non-T7 cities, most of the queries came from Phagwara, Rewa, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, and Jaipur
• Top queries discussed were loneliness, anxiety and stress management, and panic attacks

Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Healthcare Strategy Officer, Practo, said, “eConsults are empowering patients and practitioners across the country by improving access to quality health services in difficult situations like these. Fear of the disease, anxiety/loneliness due to social distancing can take a toll on the overall wellbeing during these situations and consulting a specialist will provide them with the much-required support and clarity. Doctors on our platform are consulting patients 24*7 to ensure their patient’s physical and mental health wellbeing. We are committed to our vision of making quality healthcare accessible to all Indians and will continue to provide more support in the coming days.”

 

The insights report highlights important ailments and consultation related trends in the country.  The information is aggregated, anonymized, and analyzed at scale. We hope these findings better equip our healthcare providers to understand disease patterns and address them effectively, and help others become aware of their options when looking to address their healthcare needs.