Hundred Days of Teleconsultations and Their Usefulness in the Management of COVID-19: Experience of the COVID-19 National Call Center in Bolivia.
Telemed J E Health
; 28(5): 654-665, 2022 05.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34382821
ABSTRACT
Background:
There is currently little scientific evidence on the usefulness of implementing strategies against COVID-19 remotely with the help of telemedicine.Objective:
Evaluate whether teleconsultation is helpful as an instrument of mediated care in the monitoring and follow-up of individuals with high suspicion of COVID-19 through early detection by the Call Center COVID-19 of the Ministry of Health and Sports, Bolivia.Methodology:
Descriptive and cross-sectional observational study of patients captured by the Call Center-COVID-19, who were monitored and followed up in their homes through teleconsultations carried out by the National TeleHealth Program, remotely through information and communication technologies throughout the Bolivian territory during the first 100 days of its implementation.Results:
A total of 3,278 patients were studied, recruited between March 16 and June 23, 2020; 49.4% were women, with an overall mean age of 37.5 years (standard deviation [SD] 15.2). The mean detection time was 7.6 days (SD 6.92); 93.8% required home isolation, and only 6.2% were transferred for hospitalization. The mean follow-up time for all patients was 6.7 days (SD 4.87; range 2-38). A total of 75.6% were discharged as recovered patients, and 1.9% died.Conclusions:
Early detection of individuals with suspected COVID-19 was achieved, knowing their clinical evolution until their recovery or death. Teleconsultations showed good outcomes at discharge and low fatal outcomes. From these results, it can be inferred that teleconsultation is a valuable tool in the monitoring, evaluation, and follow-up of patients. The Ministry of Health and Sports through Call Center-COVID-19 reinforced the Epidemiological Surveillance System as a passive search tool for possible suspected cases at the national level and decongesting other services in charge of this task.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Telemedicina
/
Consulta Remota
/
Centrales de Llamados
/
COVID-19
Tipo de estudio:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
/
Screening_studies
Límite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
America do sul
/
Bolivia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Telemed J E Health
Asunto de la revista:
INFORMATICA MEDICA
/
SERVICOS DE SAUDE
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Bolivia