The Provincial Telehealth Program of the Ministry of Health of Chubut has grown in recent years to offer greater equity in medical care for the population.
The Province of Chubut has the third largest area in Argentina, and is located in the south center of the Patagonian region. It is also one of the least populated provinces in Argentina with just over 587 thousand inhabitants. Due to the geographical conditions of this province, the telehealth program is of the utmost importance, to offer specialized medical care to the population in a timely manner.
Through telehealth tools, it is possible to bring medical care services closer to people who live in remote territories or who do not have enough specialist doctors or health centers to attend to.
During the "III Provincial Conference on Telehealth", organized by the Ministry of Health of the Province, the progress of telehealth in the province was reported. Thanks to a link between the province and the Garrahan Hospital in Buenos Aires, they have facilitated pediatric consultations by telemedicine. Of which only 2% required the transfer of patients to Buenos Aires to receive medical care.
Celeste Savignano, leader of Telehealth at Garrahan Hospital, attended the event, which had the theme "Telehealth: a prioritized strategy for the current challenges of the health system", who explained that "these provincial sessions were very important to continue strengthening the bonds of trust that exist between the province of Chubut and various national entities, such as the Garrahan Hospital itself, thus promoting the integration and articulation of the Federal Telehealth and Distance Communication Network”.
In addition, he explained that the Telehealth Network was created 25 years ago and that Chubut has been part of it for 15 years, which explains the progress made by various hospitals in the province in remote medical care. Likewise, Savignano highlighted that during the pandemic, Chubut's health services achieved greater access to health services for the population and greater equity in care.
