The government of the state of Sonora, through the Ministry of Health, announced the creation of a telemedicine program that seeks to bring health services to the most remote places in the entity.
The telemedicine strategy will be implemented initially in the municipalities of Cumpas, Bacanora, Sahuaripa, Arivechi, Yécora, Rosario, Quiriego, Ónavas, San Javier, Soyopa, Ures and in the town of Miguel Alemán in the state capital of Hermosillo. More than 745 thousand pesos were allocated as the first investment for the creation of this project.
The strategy will offer specialized medical care such as pediatrics, internal medicine, through virtual modalities such as telemedicine. “Through telemedicine, it is a way in which specialists can approach people who require it in different locations on a day-to-day basis,” said state health secretary José Luis Alomía.
Likewise, Alomía explained that the health secretary selected municipalities with specific characteristics to be able to implement the work successfully and in places where it is necessary. For example, rural and indigenous areas that are affected by various problems related to poverty with high levels of marginalization.
This strategy will offer services from the Operations Center, where specialist doctors will be located, prepared to offer interconsultations. This center is located in the General Hospital of the States (HGE) and in the Children's Hospital of the State (HIES). On the other hand, the medical specialists and trainees in the ten locations selected to start the project have already been trained to use the telemedicine service.
In this way, the state of Sonora will facilitate access to specialized health services for rural communities that are far from the state's large hospitals. In this way, it will reduce and/or avoid transportation expenses by the inhabitants of the aforementioned communities.
Finally, the health secretary explained that the telemedicine program will reach 109 more communities.
