The province of Mendoza in Argentina, implemented in 2020, a Telecardiography Network to bring these services closer to remote areas.
During the pandemic, the government of the Province of Mendoza in Argentina managed the creation of a telemedicine network specialized in electrocardiograms (ECG) which they called "telecardio". This service facilitates access to ECG for people who live in areas far from the main urban centers of the province.
“The general objective that we set ourselves is to establish a cardiological assistance network for the provision of informed electrocardiogram and/or remote specialist consultation, for stable, asymptomatic patients, in health controls. Today, telecardiography allows us to update tools and mechanisms for remote reading of the electrocardiographic record to optimize time and resources”, explained the Minister of Health, Ana María Nadal.
The main reasons that prompted the creation of the telecardio network were to avoid long-distance travel to patients and to avoid delays in obtaining the service in person. In this way, there are now health centers where, despite the fact that they do not have specialists who can evaluate ECG, patients can access this service. Remotely through the Internet, specialists in other hospitals obtain the data and interpret the information of the patients.
“Telemedicine can have several branches: one is to make a direct consultation of the patient with the professional or images of a complementary test such as X-rays or ultrasound can be uploaded and sent to a more complex center to be evaluated and the doctor is informed. requested”, explained Dr. Jorge Piazzentin, head of the Cardiology Service at the Lagomaggiore hospital where the network began operating almost two years ago.
Likewise, he detailed that the telecardio network is ideal for offering ECG services in areas where there are no cardiologists who can perform ECGs, in this way family doctors in hospitals in remote areas perform the ECG under the instructions of a specialist through a internet transmission system.
Currently, the Telecardiography Network operates in 56 health centers, using a non-invasive diagnostic technique with high sensitivity, positive predictive value and specificity in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.
In this way, by avoiding delays and delays in the provision of this service, it is possible for the health system in Mendoza to make more diagnoses on time, thanks to the role of telemedicine and primary health care.
