In Ceará, a state located in the northeast of Brazil, the State Health Secretariat (Sesa) has a Telehealth program, which modernized its health care models for the benefit of users and health professionals.
La Sesa created the Telehealth Center in 2013, Telesalud Sesa; with the aim of connecting with other health units through the use of technologies. It was equipped for remote evaluation of clinical cases, research, continuing education and even remote pre-diagnosis.
During the COVID-19 pandemic due to health measures, the Center was extremely important for patients to receive remote consultations. This situation caused the service platform to be modernized, for which it was necessary to increase the amount of computer equipment and professionals trained to perform tasks related to telehealth.
To date, 957 health professionals have been registered in Telesalud Sesa, who are working in the ten units connected to this service. "The registered professionals assist in the team, as well as in the orientation of patients with suspected COVID-19 or with a reaction to the vaccine," explains Allan Denizard, Family and Community doctor, who participates in this program.
In 2021, the services of the Sesa Telehealth Center reached the figure of 28,670 visits, of which more than 12,000 were related to COVID-19. “In 2021, there were 8,057 screenings, 57% of which were at moderate to severe risk. Of these, 25% received guidance to maintain isolation and 13% were urged to go to the emergency services for a face-to-face evaluation," Denizard explained.
On the other hand, the professionals of the Sesa Telehealth Center provide support to the primary, secondary and tertiary units. This type of assistance is carried out through synchronous or asynchronous queries with a maximum response time of 72 hours. “The simultaneous interactivity between professionals allows a greater detail of the cases. This can often allow clinical decision-making during the consultation”, explains the specialist.
There are currently seven hospitals connected to the Sesa Telehealth Center, all with various medical specialty services. In this way, the Center has specialists from 24 medical specialties: cardiology, dental surgeon, general surgery, vascular surgery, dermatology, endocrinology, family and community, gastroenterology, gynecology, hematology, infectious disease, intensive care, mastology, nephrology, neurology, obstetrics , ophthalmology, orthopedics, otorhinolaryngology, pulmonology, proctology, psychiatry, rheumatology and urology.
The state of Ceará has one of the most extensive and complete telehealth networks in the country, which was an important support during the health emergency, to continue providing medical services.
