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

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the asynchronous dental teleconsulting of Telehealth Brazil Networks Program in Minas Gerais. Data were collected from secondary databases of the Clinical Hospital of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (CH/UFMG) and Medical School of UFMG (MS/UFMG), from July 2015 to July 2017. The variables analyzed were telehealth center, sex and profession, date and time questions and answers, response time in days, whether the issue was duly addressed, whether the teleconsulting was attended, post status, professional's satisfaction, conduct adopted after teleconsulting, dental specialty area, and type of issues. Sociodemographic data from the Intermediate Geographical Regions (IGR) of Minas Gerais, including the Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI) and Gini Index were also collected. The results were analyzed using SPSS v.22.0. In total, 3,920 teleconsulting were recorded, with increasing demand in the study period. Most were requested by dentists (93.3%) and female professionals (78.6%), during office hours (78.6%), and related to general conducts (72.1%). Almost all were attended (99.7%), with a maximum response time of two days (75.0%). A low feedback on satisfaction and resolution of issues (missing data of 57.2% and 70.2%, respectively) was recorded. Only 5.2% had information on whether patients were referred. The most common inquires were of issues about Pathology/ Stomatology specialties (19.0%) and Pharmacology/Anesthesiology (18.8%). The response occurred within the expected time, with prevalent issues in basic dental areas and general conducts. Feedback from professionals must be encouraged to allow a better analysis and improvements of the program.

National analysis of dental teleconsulting of the Brazilian Telehealth Program

“…28 The importance of telehealth has also been reported for rural America, where increased provision of high-quality telehealth services may minimize disparities and enhance the connection between clinicians. 30 The primary demand for teleconsulting in all Brazilian regions was from female dentists, as observed elsewhere, 15,16,31 and that may reflect the higher prevalence of females in healthcare services, 15,17 their greater adherence to the Program, or a more significant concern with women's professional conduct. 16 The primary demand from FHS dental surgeons and general dental practitioners was expected thanks to the Brazilian PHC profile.…”

“…226/2020 published in 2020, by the Brazilian Federal Council of Dentistry, allows telemonitoring (remote monitoring of patients undergoing treatment by dentists), and teleadvice with the application of a preclinical questionnaire to decide on the best time to attend to them, considering COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. 14 The Program was has been evaluated by some studies, [15][16][17] but none has nationally explored dental teleconsulting. Thus, the present study aimed to nationally describe regional differences in dental teleconsulting provided by the Telehealth Brazil Networks Program.…”

Synchronous Telephone-Based Consultations in Teledentistry: Preliminary Experience of the Telehealth Brazil Platform

“…Our results highlighted a predilection for Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery specialties, together accounting for 65% of teleconsultations. Oral medicine has already been found as an important source of requests by Paixão et al 9 and Bavaresco et al 4 This finding could be explained by the perception of dentists that their competence to diagnose oral cancer is low. 27 Most dentists attribute diagnostic difficulty to limited theory instruction and practical training in oral medicine, 28 reinforcing that continuing education on this topic is needed.…”

“…22 Therefore, teledentistry has been a good alternative for monitoring patients, limiting unnecessary human contact and displacement to major centers, reducing the risk of spreading COVID-19. [23][24][25] Two studies assessed the teleconsultations of the Brazilian Telehealth Program offered in Minas Gerais 9 and Rio Grande do Sul States. 4 Those articles comprised both asynchronous (text) and synchronous (videoconference) teleconsultations.…”

“…In dentistry and nursing, these approaches have been less explored, but some experiences have already been reported. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Brazil is a country with some gaps in the National Health System (NHS), such as the quality of the service provided, which is heterogeneous in the different levels of care. 12,13 In this regard, the Brazilian Ministry of Health instituted the Brazilian Telemedicine Programme (www.telessaudebrasil.org.br) in 2007.…”