The Municipality of Sao Caetano do Sul, in the north of Brazil, announced that the implementation of the Municipal Telemedicine Nucleus could increase the offer of consultations in medical specialties in a 60%.
On August 12, Sao Caetano health authorities inaugurated the Clinical Hospital Complex, the Municipal Telemedicine Nucleus, which has five virtual clinics that offer care in seven specialties: cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, neurology, otorhinolaryngology, rheumatology and health cardiovascular. The pilot program for this service began on August 1 and achieved the scheduling of nearly 600 queries.
“There will be about 1,000 more inquiries per week, totaling 4,000 per month. We will be able to meet the accumulated demand in these specialties, which is around 12,200 consultations, in less than four months. Telemedicine will facilitate access to Health, guarantee the service and speed up diagnoses”, explained Mayor José Auricchio Júnior during the inauguration.
The Telemedicine Nucleus works in the following way: The patient goes to the establishment, where he is guided and assisted by a nursing team that performs the triage, examination tomographies, which the doctor later analyzes. Then the doctor performs the teleconsultation and the patient receives their medical prescriptions if necessary. The medical team will be made up of 30 specialists, as well as administrative staff for the appointment schedule.
“Our expectation is to expand care in other specialties, with doctors from our network. We never imagined that we would reach a remote consultation service. The Teleservice gained strength in the pandemic and is here to stay, it is a path of no return. The service continues to be humanized, with total attention to the patient. A nurse remains in the room throughout the consultation, guiding and helping in whatever is necessary”, explained the Secretary of Health, Regina Maura Zetone.
Users have recognized that through this service they were able to reduce the waiting time to obtain a consultation with a specialist and also in the screening service.
