Impact of a Virtual Clinic in a Paediatric Cardiology Network on Northeast Brazil

Abstract

Introduction. Congenital heart diseases (CHD) affect approximately 1% of live births and is an important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Despite that, there is a shortage of paediatric cardiologists in Brazil, mainly in the northern and northeastern regions. In this context, the implementation of virtual outpatient clinics with the aid of different telemedicine resources may help in the care of children with heart defects. Methods. Patients under 18 years of age treated in virtual outpatient clinics between January 2013 and May 2014 were selected. They were divided into 2 groups: those who had and those who had not undergone a screening process for CHD in the neonatal period. Clinical and demographic characteristics were collected for further statistical analysis. Results. A total of 653 children and teenagers were treated in the virtual outpatient clinics. From these, 229 had undergone a neonatal screening process. Fewer abnormalities were observed on the physical examination of the screened patients. Conclusion. The implementation of pediatric cardiology virtual outpatient clinics can have a positive impact in the care provided to people in areas with lack of skilled professionals.

Echocardiography Learning by Pediatricians While Screening Congenital Heart Disease with the Aid of Telemedicine

“…Nevertheless, we reduced the impact of such cases by referring all the inconclusive examinations for further evaluation by a pediatric cardiologist or through a virtual outpatient clinic (live echocardiograms). 10,21 Nonetheless, without the continuous online support from the pediatric cardiologists, the success of this work model would not be possible. Their constant availability to supervise the examinations was essential to support the pediatricians and avoid unnecessary transferals and, more importantly, to identify critical CHD timely.…”

Telehealth for Pediatric Cardiology Practitioners in the Time of COVID-19

“…This includes its value in fetal echocardiography and fetal cardiac monitoring, neonatal consultation for the sick newborn with suspected congenial heart disease, the care of pediatric patients presenting for follow-up care or to the local emergency department with acquired heart disease, and providing expertise in the management of the adult congenital patient [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Multiple publications have detailed the ability of telehealth to extend subspecialty availability and expertise to rural or community practices without an on-site pediatric cardiologist [10][11][12][13]. A study of telehealth in a Portuguese pediatric cardiology practice noted improved access to patients living in rural areas and the ability of global outreach to cardiologists working in low and middleincome countries [11].…”

Research topic: Managing compassionate therapy—the role of the virtual clinic

“…Virtual clinics, whereby healthcare providers monitor make management decisions in the absence of the patient have been utilized in chronic disease processes such as glaucoma, coeliac disease, pediatric heart disease, and IBD . IBD lends itself well to this model as validated clinical disease indices can be added to biomarkers to make informed management decisions.…”