Perceptions of primary care physicians and patients about telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic
an integrative review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5712/rbmfc18(45)3468Keywords:
Primary Health Care, Telemedicine, COVID-19, Review.Abstract
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic imposed an urgent need to reorganize health services across the planet, including within the scope of primary health care. In this context, telemedicine soon proved to be a key strategy for maintaining the provision of essential health services. Among the obstacles to disseminating this type of care is the human factor. Objective: Accordingly, this study aimed to determine the perceptions of physicians and patients about telemedicine at the primary health care level during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An integrative literature review of articles published up to April 1, 2022 was carried out in 3 databases (BVS, PubMed and Science Direct). Texts containing “COVID-19”, “telemedicina” and “atenção primária à saúde” (or their equivalents in English or Spanish) in their respective titles and/or abstracts simultaneously were included. After reading the abstract and full text, the following were excluded: replicated; without description of perceptions; with a limited focus on disease or medical specialty; without focus on primary health care, telemedicine or COVID-19; without an explicit or defined methodology; and not found online. At the end, selected publications were submitted to analysis and had their sociodemographic characteristics raised and emerging themes divided into categories, based on the Primary Care Assessment Survey, and classified into potentials or weaknesses in each area. Approval by the ethics committee was not required. Results: Thirteen works were selected using the described methods. These were subdivided into 2 groups, based on the focus of the perceptions found (doctors or patients). Texts were obtained from countries in the Americas (5 studies), the Middle East (4 studies), Europe (2 studies) and the Western Pacific (2 studies). Synchronous telemedicine was the most cited modality, with telephone and video as the most used media. Conclusions: Telemedicine has numerous potential applications at the primary health care level; in particular, with regard to its essential attributes of longitudinality and coordination of care. It can, however, exacerbate challenges already presented by health systems, while at the same time, it does not completely replace face-to-face service. Therefore, it should be considered a modality of individual and context-dependent health care.
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