The strategy of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in the General Hospital of Zone 1 Aguascalientes (HGZ No. 1), provides medical care to patients with COVID-19.
The HGZ No. 1 telemedicine service offers medical and care assistance such as breathing exercises, nursing support, as well as psychological, psychiatric and nutritional guidance, through video calls with patients.
On the days of greatest demand, the staff of this IMSS hospital in Aguascalientes answered more than 2,000 calls daily. The multidisciplinary care team monitors patients who are recovering from COVID-19 from their homes for at least ten days.
Dr. María de Lourdes Sauceda López, responsible for the program at HGZ No. 1, explained that remote care not only includes video calls with doctors from the hospital unit, but also offers to send oxygen tanks to the patient's home and perform urgent interconsultations with doctors from different medical specialties.
“Faced with the isolation of the patient with COVID-19, telemedicine has allowed us to assess, care for and closely monitor them when they are outpatients or are discharged from hospital. This prevents complications, avoids the saturation of medical services and cuts chains of contagion”, explained Dr. Sauceda López.
The doctor recognized the great support that telemedicine has represented in the hospital: “Telemedicine has shown us that together we can overcome this pandemic with a positive attitude and faith.”
