Research in the field of health, dentistry, telehealth and teledentistry

Abstract

Research in the Field of Health, Dentistry, Telehealth and Teledentistry G lobal trends in Higher Education points, as guidelines to be pursued, lifelong learning, public accountability and the social dimension of higher education and research.The information and communication technologies (ICT) add a new dimension, influenced by the perception that the current society is globally interconnected, that our knowledge and our vision of the world is transitory, is always incomplete and reprocessing, that we can access continuously and permanently any and all information, and create simulations of the real world .Reflecting the perspective of the information society we can ask what changed after the publication of the Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para a Odontologia (DCN -Brazilian guidelines for undegraduate courses of dentistry and other health professions) in Brazil. Government programs such as Pro-Saúde and PETSaúde, from the Brazilian Ministry of Health in partnership with the Brazilian Ministry of Education, has supported and strengthened the implementation of DCN in the 14 Health Professions.These programs, implemented since 2006, have benefited almost 100,000 undergraduate students in the Health field, approximately 1,000 undergraduate courses and involved health care professionals in more than 1,000 Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS -Brazilian Unified Health System) health services, seeking reorientation training for health professionals, and including the expansion in the use of ICT to strengthen applied research to teaching, guided by clinical and social relevance. Such an approach has added value to practice, producing real experience of the daily work.The use of ICT applied to health, whether in education (distance learning), research, or in health care (telecare), relates to the emergence of Telehealth, Telemedicine, Teledentistry, and puts new elements also for choosing and planning research. To Sigulem (1997) digital health practice refers to the set of techniques, practices, attitudes, and ways of thinking and new values that develop as a result of the growth of the digital space.In the case of telecare, Brazil has a success case with the implementation of the Telessaúde Brasil (www.telessaudebrasil.org.br -Brazilian Telehealth Program), whose results show impacts on the solvability of care, lower costs and continuing education of health professionals. With this program, in addition to establishing protocols for teleconsultation, new concepts and formats aggregation of scientific knowledge and research for easy use by health professionals in service have been developed, such as the Formative Second Opinion.The production of knowledge and the development of research in this area resulted in the creation of a new scientific journal, the Brazilian Journal of Telehealth (www.jbtelessaude.com.br), in which the latest edition highlights the Brazilian experiences in Teledentistry.

Impact of teleconsultations on the conduct of oral health teams in the Telehealth Brazil Networks Programme

“…A low rate of utilization of teledentistry services provided to the oral health teams connected to the TelehealthRS project was observed. Haddad et al 7 note that it is still necessary to overcome barriers in the work process, in the incorporation of permanent education, and in the management of services to increase the use of telehealth and professionals' demand for teleconsultation services. Similar obstacles to the use of teledentistry have been reported in the literature with regard to issues of technical reliability, diagnostic accuracy, and the cost-benefit ratio of implementing teledentistry centres.…”

“…6 This situation favours the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) aimed at improving professional qualifications and achieving greater equality in the provision of healthcare services. 7,8,9 Experiences in several countries have shown that investments in PHC made with the goal of improving physical resources and professional qualifications lead to a significant improvement in the population's health indicators. 10,11,12 The constant updating of scientific knowledge requires continued professional education to ensure the quality of care.…”

Analysis of the asynchronous dental teleconsulting of Telehealth Brazil Networks in Minas Gerais

“…Telehealth has the potential to reduce time to diagnosis, 2 avoid unnecessary patient travel, optimize financial resources without compromising the quality of care, 3,4,5 and improve the resolution of care. 6 In general, telehealth has good acceptability by professionals and patients 5 , and enables better work conditions and less isolation of professionals working in remote areas, favoring their stay in these locations. 7 Teledentistry has growing applications in dentistry, increasing access and improving health services.…”

Tecnologias de informação e comunicação para formação profissional em Odontologia: uma proposta do Telessaúde/ES

“…O Telessaúde é uma ferramenta de ensinoaprendizagem capaz de suprir as necessidades de conhecimento dos profissionais, contribuindo para efetivação do processo de EPS. A utilização de TIC proporciona uma percepção da sociedade atual, mostra a interligação global e promove o acesso contínuo e permanente a toda e qualquer informação 12 .…”