Telemedicine can help predict outbreaks of diseases such as dengue and Covid; understand

A telemedicine It can help predict outbreaks of infections such as Covid-19 and dengue, helping to make more assertive decisions to speed up patient care in the face of a rise in cases. This is what the report shows “Physical Health Connection “, from Conexa, an integral health ecosystem, launched this Wednesday (4).

The report provides information about the relevance of the growth of telehealth in Brazil, since the beginning of the healthtech in the country. Through data, the document shows how telemedicine is capable of impacting patients, partner companies and health insurers.

According to the report, the Health Analyticsa population data management platform, can help bring insights into the epidemiological situation of an infection and the predict possible outbreaks and epidemics .

In the case of dengue, for example, the platform identified that for every thousand consultations carried out in February 2024, 57.2 were probable cases of dengue What represents an increase of 718% compared to the same month in 2023 . In February of the previous year, there were seven patients with the disease for every thousand visits, according to the report.

The platform also found that there was a 245% increase in dengue cases from January to February 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. For Gabriel Garcez, medical director and vice-president of Physical Health at Conexa, the analysis of the behavior of consultation requests “helps to predict when there will be a rise in cases, making it possible to increase the scale of professionals and reducing the impact on the service queue”.

90% of patients trust virtual care

Virtual emergency care, offered by telemedicine, is also efficient for reduce patient visits to the physical emergency room in situations of outbreaks and epidemics, especially in less complex situations.

Of the total queries on the platform, around 88% of cases are resolved through telemedicine reducing physical emergency room visits, according to the report.

Through a partnership with one of the largest healthcare providers in the country, Conexa analyzed data from 57,130 virtual consultations carried out over a three-month period. Of these, 94% were discharged through telemedicine — of this portion, 90% trusted virtual care and resolved their health issue without going to the physical emergency room . Only 10% chose to go to the physical PS even after discharge.

The most complex cases were referred to the physical emergency room (6%). Of these, 43% actually sought physical assistance, while 57% did not provide in-person assistance.

According to the report, teleconsultation also helps reduce the number of patients going to the physical emergency room in situations of disease outbreaks and epidemics, such as Covid-19 and dengue, for less complex conditions. In Garcez's view, this is relevant for patient safety in epidemic scenarios .

“The main factor is trust. We need to offer a quality service because the patient has to feel that, by avoiding a trip to the emergency room and carrying out an online consultation, they will receive the same care and the same quality of service that they would have if they were, for example, in an emergency room. private hospital”, says the specialist.

In addition, greater dissemination by operators and partner companies that telemedicine is a viable option for their employees and customers.

“Many of the people who travel one to two hours to the hospital often have a low-complexity, less serious complaint. If she is willing to resolve this remotely, within the limitations and possibilities of telemedicine, she needs to know that she has access to this service”, he adds.

Source: CNN Brasil

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