[Scope and limitations of teleconsultation during the covid-19 pandemic: accounts from primary healthcare professionals in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires]. / Alcances y limitaciones de la teleconsulta en pandemia de covid-19: relatos de profesionales de la salud del primer nivel de atención de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.

The aim was to explore the scope and limitations of teleconsultation during the pandemic from the perspective of primary care physicians at the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, a private institution located in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. A qualitative study was conducted with ten individual semi-structured interviews between January and April 2022. The three major emerging topics were the transition to virtuality, accessibility, and the new care model. Obstacles were related to the massive, forced, and unplanned implementation of teleconsultations. The main benefits included providing care during isolation-distancing and addressing epidemiological doubts. Changes were highlighted in care strategies, consultation frameworks, exchange among colleagues, referral criteria, requests for complementary studies, and in the profiles of those seeking consultations. A misuse of the system by individuals and a trivialization of the consultation moment emerged. The rise of communication and information technologies undoubtedly allowed the continuity of healthcare processes, but it does not replace in-person care, and normative guidelines are needed for its continuity.

El objetivo fue explorar alcances y limitaciones de la teleconsulta en pandemia, desde la perspectiva de médicos y médicas del primer nivel de atención del Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, una institución privada ubicada en la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Se realizó un estudio cualitativo con diez entrevistas semiestructuradas individuales entre enero y abril de 2022. Los tres grandes tópicos emergentes fueron la transición a la virtualidad, la accesibilidad y el nuevo modelo de atención. Los obstáculos se relacionaron con la implementación masiva, forzada y no planificada de las teleconsultas. Los principales beneficios fueron brindar atención durante el aislamiento-distanciamiento y evacuar dudas epidemiológicas. Se destacan cambios en estrategias de atención, encuadre de las consultas, intercambio entre colegas, criterios de derivación y de pedido de estudios complementarios, y en los perfiles de consultantes. Surgió un sobreuso del sistema por parte de las personas, y una banalización del momento de la consulta. El auge de las tecnologías de la comunicación e información indudablemente permitió dar continuidad a los procesos asistenciales en salud, pero no reemplaza la presencialidad y se requieren lineamientos normativos para su continuidad.

[Determinants of the choice of the first level of care in medicine as a field of training and work: A qualitative study]. / Determinantes de la elección del primer nivel de atención en medicina como ámbito de formación y laboral: un estudio cualitativo.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the determinants of eligibility and the choice of the first level of care as a workplace and training environment for health professionals. DESIGN: Qualitative study. SETTING: Four universities in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina. PARTICIPANTS: Recently graduated doctors and medical students. METHOD: Based on the grounded constructivist theory, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted for data collection and subsequent analysis. RESULTS: 31 interviews and three focus groups were conducted during 2019-2020. Emerging concepts were organized in main axes for analysis. Positive and negative experiences were identified in relation to primary health care (PHC) in curricular spaces and practical rotations, and a significant lack of knowledge of its scope. For the choice of medical specialties, personal interests, future projections, social prestige, economic income and knowledge of a specific area of medicine are important. There is a devaluation in terms of the role and resolution capacity of PHC, and it is also associated with the assistance of populations with low socioeconomic resources. CONCLUSIONS: Little knowledge of PHC, its lack of prestige, and insufficient remuneration for first-level care professionals were identified as the main barriers to choosing PHC as a place of work and training. In contrast, social commitment, the possibility of having a better lifestyle, and the type of doctor-patient relationship appear as the main facilitators.