TELEREGULATION IN GASTROENTEROLOGY AND THE BOTTLENECK OF SPECIALIZED HEALTH CAREABSTRACT
Background: Increasing population size and the presence of bottlenecks in access to specialized health care demonstrate the importance of developing measures for better clinical management. The implementation of teleregulation is expected to bring greater resolution in the system.
Objective: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the results of teleregulation in gastroenterology for the resolution of referrals in a large Brazilian city.
Methods: We carried out a retrospective cross-sectional study of primary health care teleregulation requests for gastroenterology in a Brazilian city. Data were collected from October 2022 to June 2023 in patients aged >18 years. Patient demographic data, the reason for requesting screening, and screening outcomes were collected. Requests for reassessment were excluded.
Results: Of the 3,000 teleregulation sessions screened in the study period, 71.1% were included, of which 68.17% were for women with a mean age of 54.32±16.19 years. Among the reasons for referral, 1,368 (64.13%) were to request examinations, 568 (26.63%) to discuss conduct and 197 (9.24%) to request a referral to a specialist. Ten percent of cases required referral to a specialist, 6.61% were incorrect requests and 14.95% were prioritized.
Conclusion: The present study highlights that teleregulation represents an important tool in health management, being able to bring resolution in 89.9% of cases.
Keywords:
Gastroenterology; medical teletriage; health management
HIGHLIGHTS
• Access to specialized health services represents a bottleneck in terms of public health.
• Teleregulation in gastroenterology can be a solution to increase the speed of access to specialized examination results and consultations with specialists.
• Teleregulation can bring up to 89.9% resolution to cases, without the need for an in-person consultation with a specialist.
• Through teleregulation, it is possible to suggest topics for continuing education in primary care, such as red flags in gastroenterology and colorectal cancer screening criteria.