The Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare of Paraguay reported that through telemedicine services and teleconsultations, they managed to provide care to 92,356 patients nationwide.
Telemedicine services were adopted by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare in 2013 and that same year the pilot test of the National Telemedicine System was carried out. Which since 2014 was formalized permanently. However, it was from 2020 as a result of the pandemic that the demand for these services among the population has increased.
Thanks to telemedicine, during the health emergency due to COVID-19, it was possible to continue providing services to patients with chronic diseases, whose health centers or offices were affected by social distancing measures. "In 2020, 60 thousand 096 studies were carried out, and so far in 2021, 32 thousand 260, totaling 92 thousand 356 attentions", explained Pedro Galván director of Telemedicine.
Galván explained that the 2013 pilot test was carried out in the farthest place with the worst connectivity scenario, after verifying its operation, it was decided to implement the system at a national level. Currently, as explained by the director of Telemedicine in Paraguay, the telemedicine system connects more than 68 communities to the national network, which includes regional and district hospitals and Family Health Units.
The services available through the national telemedicine system since 2014 are tomography, ultrasound, electroencephalography and electrocardiography. The first three are part of the universal coverage services for care in road accidents, cardiovascular diseases, epilepsy, among others.
Health Minister Julio Borba has explained the need to continue increasing the level of telemedicine coverage and achieve its equitable application and facilitate its use in vulnerable communities.
Use of Artificial Intelligence during the pandemic
Telemedicine was not the only applied health technology in Paraguay that made significant progress during the pandemic. Artificial Intelligence (AI) was also used in response to the health emergency. In Paraguay, a COVID-19 screening system based on AI and machine learning was developed, diagnostic tests were carried out on healthy people to distinguish from those with possible infections.
This technology was combined with telemedicine services to monitor patients. Thus, it was possible to strengthen the diagnostic capacity and make better use of the available resources.
