Telemedicina en seguros de salud durante la pandemia de la COVID-19

Objective

To describe the adoption, scope, and effectiveness of the Telehealth Service launched by health insurance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina.

Design

Descriptive cross-sectional study.

Setting

Outpatient teleconsultation for adults, pediatrics and dentistry following a primary care approach.

Participants

18,300 patients (5.7% of insured population) were attended during the first year of the health emergency by COVID 19.

Main measurements

number of teleconsultations, patients’ characteristics, geographical distribution, waiting and attention times, completed and canceled appointments, reasons for consultation, and resources.

Results

A total of 132,142 teleconsultations were analyzed. In the first quarter of 2021, the interannual variation was 515% compared to 2020. The population served consisted of adults of average age of 32 years, (59% female). In pediatrics, the average age was 5.3 years (44% female). The geographical scope was national, most teleconsultations were in Buenos Aires (50%), Federal Capital (18%), and Córdoba (10%). The most common health problems were related to COVID-19, prescription refills, rhinopharyngitis, and gastroenteritis. Average attention times ranged from 6-7 minutes and waiting room time was 3 to 6 minutes. There were 86% of successful consultations and 7-11% of canceled consultations due to connection issues. On average, patients ranked the satisfaction with the service with 4.5 points on a scale out of 5. The team consisted of 97 doctors with a generalist training profile.

Conclusions

The teleconsultations facilitated accessibility to primary healthcare and prompt resolution of queries with comprehensive national coverage. More research is needed to strengthen telemedicine access and safety policies.