Dataset Information

The use of telemedicine to support Brazilian primary care physicians in managing eye conditions: The TeleOftalmo Project.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To determine whether teleophthalmology can help physicians in assessing and managing eye conditions and to ascertain which clinical conditions can be addressed by teleophthalmology in primary care setting.

Methods

We evaluated the resolution capacity of TeleOftalmo, strategy implemented in the public health system of southern Brazil. Resolution capacity was defined as the ability to fully address patients' eye complaints in primary care with remote assistance from ophthalmologists. Data from tele-eye reports were collected over 14 months. Resolution capacity was compared across different age groups and different ocular conditions.

Results

Overall, 8,142 patients had a tele-eye report issued in the study period. Resolution capacity was achieved in 5,748 (70.6%) patients. When stratified into age groups, the lowest capacity was 43.1% among subjects aged ?65 years, while the highest was 89.7% among subjects aged 13-17 years (p<0.001). Refractive error (70.3%) and presbyopia (56.3%) were the most prevalent conditions followed by cataract (12.4%) and suspected glaucoma (7.6%). Resolution capacity was higher in cases of refractive error, presbyopia, spasm of accommodation and lid disorders than in patients diagnosed with other condition (p<0.001).

Conclusions

With telemedicine support, primary care physicians solved over two-thirds of patients' eye or vision complaints. Refractive errors had high case resolution rates, thus having a great impact on reducing the number of referrals to specialty care. Teleophthalmology adoption in primary-care settings as part of the workup of patients with eye or vision complaints promotes a more effective use of specialty centers and will hopefully reduce waiting times for specialty referral.

SUBMITTER: Lutz de Araujo A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7117761 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The use of telemedicine to support Brazilian primary care physicians in managing eye conditions: The TeleOftalmo Project.

Lutz de Araujo Aline A Moreira Taís de Campos TC Varvaki Rados Dimitris Rucks DR Gross Paula Blasco PB Molina-Bastos Cynthia Goulart CG Katz Natan N Hauser Lisiane L Souza da Silva Rodolfo R Gadenz Sabrina Dalbosco SD Dal Moro Rafael Gustavo RG Cabral Felipe Cezar FC Matturro Lucas L Moraes Pagano Cássia Garcia CG Faria Amanda Gomes AG Falavigna Maicon M da Silva Siqueira Ana Célia AC Schor Paulo P Gonçalves Marcelo Rodrigues MR Umpierre Roberto Nunes RN Harzheim Erno E

PloS one 20200402 4

<h4>Purpose</h4>To determine whether teleophthalmology can help physicians in assessing and managing eye conditions and to ascertain which clinical conditions can be addressed by teleophthalmology in primary care setting.<h4>Methods</h4>We evaluated the resolution capacity of TeleOftalmo, strategy implemented in the public health system of southern Brazil. Resolution capacity was defined as the ability to fully address patients' eye complaints in primary care with remote assistance from ophthalm ...[more]

PMID: 32240268

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND: The aim of the study presented in this article is to analyse the determinants of telemedicine use. To that end, the study makes two basic contributions. First, it considers six working hypotheses in the context of technology acceptance models (TAMs). Second, it uses data obtained for three samples of physicians from three different countries (Spain, Colombia and Bolivia). Obtaining and comparing evidence on an international scale allows determinants of telemedicine use to be evaluated across different contexts. METHODS: In Bolivia, the survey was conducted in hospitals and health care centres of the urban and rural districts of the municipality of Sucre, in a population comprising a total of 350 physicians. In Spain, the survey population consisted of medical professionals of all profiles affiliated with health care within the Canary Islands Health Service, comprising a total of 356 physicians. Finally, in Colombia, it was conducted in the Society of Surgery Service at San José Hospital of Bogotá, in a population comprising a total of 184 physicians. Using an extended TAM and survey data from 510 physicians (113 in Spain, 118 in Colombia and 279 in Bolivia), binary logistic regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: In the three samples, it was found that the physician's level of information and communication technology (ICT) use in his/her personal life was the variable that had the highest explanatory power regarding telemedicine use. In the Spanish sample, the physicians' perceived ease-of-use of ICTs in clinical practice and propensity to innovate were the two other variables that determined telemedicine use, whereas in the Colombian and Bolivian samples, it was the level of optimism about ICTs. CONCLUSION: The results facilitated a more complete model that includes personal, usability, and innovatory aspects in the explanation of Telemedicine use in Spain, whereas the results for the Latin American samples indicated a more primary model in the explanation of Telemedicine use, which was completed by an optimism factor that did not emerge in the Spanish sample.

Project description:BackgroundTelemedicine is becoming routine in health care. Postpandemic, a universal return to face-to-face consultations may risk a loss of some of the advantages of telemedicine. However, rapid implementation and adoption without robust evaluation of usability, efficacy, and effectiveness could potentially lead to suboptimal health outcomes and downstream challenges to providers.ObjectiveThis review assesses telemedicine interventions against international guidance and sufficiency of evidence to support postpandemic utilization in pediatric settings.MethodsThis scoping review was performed following searches on PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL databases on April 15, 2021, and May 31, 2022, and examined studies focused on telemedicine, remote consultation, video call, or remote patient monitoring in children (0-18 years) receiving outpatient care for diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, or renal disease. Exclusion criteria included studies published before 2011 as the technologies used have likely been improved or replaced, studies in adult populations or where it was not possible to disaggregate data for participants younger than 18 years as the focus of the review was on pediatric care, and studies not published in English. Data were extracted by 4 authors, and the data were corroborated by a second reviewer. Studies were examined for feasibility and usability, clinical and process outcomes, and cost-effectiveness.ResultsOf the 3158 studies identified, 56 were suitable for final inclusion and analysis. Data on feasibility or usability of interventions (48 studies) were overwhelmingly positive in support of telemedicine interventions, with common themes including convenience, perceived cost savings, and ease of use. However, use in preference to usual care was rarely explored. Clinical and process outcome data (31 studies) were mostly positive. Across all studies, there was limited measurement of standardized clinical outcomes, although these were more commonly reported in asthma (peak flow) and diabetes (glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c]). Implementation science data generally supported cost-effectiveness of telemedicine with a reduction of health care costs.ConclusionsThere is promising evidence supporting telemedicine in pediatric settings. However, there is a lack of evaluation of telemedicine in comparison with usual outpatient care for noninferiority of clinical outcomes, and this review highlights the need for a more standardized approach to evaluation of digital interventions.

Dataset Information

The use of telemedicine to support Brazilian primary care physicians in managing eye conditions: The TeleOftalmo Project.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The use of telemedicine to support Brazilian primary care physicians in managing eye conditions: The TeleOftalmo Project.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets