The aim of this study is evaluate the effects of telephone teleconsultations to primary care physicians (compared to the state's referral protocol) in the referrals waiting list for endocrinological appointments.
Rio Grande do Sul state's referral list for endocrinology evaluation in specialized care is highly overloaded. There is currently a referral protocol to select patients how should be referred. It will be evaluated if a intervention of telephone-based teleconsultations provided by the TelessaúdeRS to the primary care physicians can provide additional benefits. TelessaúdeRS is a telehealth program from the University of Rio Grande do Sul. This will be evaluated in a cluster randomized clinical trial.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
3,470
The teleconsultations will be performed by medical doctors, mostly family physicians, but also internists and endocrinologists. The teleconsultations will follow a structured format to discuss some topics on the disease and access the relevant information (based on the state's protocols). The doubts from the primary care physician will be addressed.
The informations provided in the referral list will be evaluated through the state's referrals protocols.
Secretaria Estadual da Saúde
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Number of consultations authorized
Number of consultations authorized after the evaluation by the control and intervention strategies.
Time frame: 1 year
Number of new referrals for endocrinology
Total number of new referrals performed by the county.
Time frame: 1 year
Adherence to the state's protocols
Number of new referrals for endocrinology with adequate informations according to the state's protocols.
Time frame: 1 year
Usage of TelessaúdeRS teleconsultations
Total number of calls to TelessaúdeRS hotline (available to every primary care physician working in brazilian public health system)
Time frame: 1 year
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