The application of telehealth in Tabasco, despite its recent appearance, continues to grow within the projects and strategies of the state Ministry of Health.
The Secretariat of the state of Tabasco, in southeastern Mexico, introduced a Telehealth strategy in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between March and December of that year, state hospitals in Tabasco offered 19,695 telehealth actions, teleconsultations, remote monitoring, among others.
The State Telehealth Coordination carried out various actions in 2nd and 3rd level hospitals. This strategy benefited the inhabitants of the region, by receiving remote care from specialists to avoid physical contact and prevent COVID-19 infections.
Actions include remote triage or filtering related to COVID-19. These were made through phone calls, SMS, chat, or chatbot and a total of 3,327 services were provided. Regarding remote medical advice also related to COVID-19, they also used telephone calls and instant messaging, however, video calls were added. In this category of teleconsultations, a total of 3,985 visits were made. Finally, the COVID-19 remote consultations represented a total of 3,327 services provided.
On the other hand, remote medical advice, which was not related to COVID-19, managed to reach a figure of 5,812 services, likewise remote monitoring of patients reached the figure of 1,622 services offered.
In the 2021 plan, specialty and subspecialty teleconsultations were included. However, in 2020, teleconsultations of this classification were provided in gynecology and obstetrics, with 4,212, cardiology with only 41, pediatrics with 684 and others with 8 thousand 187. For a total figure of 13 thousand 124.
Electronic Census Card
The Electronic Census Card was also introduced in the state, which allows measuring, comparing and determining the evolution of various social variables. The card is delivered and registered by family, and the data is provided by the head of the family or any person over 18 years of age. Among the information it provides is: location and housing data, history of diseases, history of hereditary diseases, detections, disabilities and addictions.
The technical specifications are the following:
- Does not require internet;
- it has geolocation without requiring a mobile network and Wi-Fi;
- it is linked to the postal code of the colonies;
- it is a simple tool to use;
- and it has real-time synchronization.
In this way, the Secretary of Health of the State of Tabasco managed to successfully implement a telemedicine strategy during the pandemic. In addition to conducting workshops, live broadcasts and tele-education courses.
