Characterization of Asynchronous Telemedice Consultation for Pulmonology In Colombia
Background Among the modalities of asynchronous telemedicine used in Colombia, there exists the teleconcepto, through which a medical response from a specialist is provided within certain time. Currently, there is no data about the characteristics of teleconceptos directed to the pulmonology service. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out to identify the characteristics of teleconceptos aimed at pulmonology. Data was obtained from the clinical record of each teleconcepto, taking into account date and time of the request, vital signs, ICD-10 diagnosis, present illness, and the reason for consultation, as well as date and time of response from pulmonology and type of recommendation, either a diagnosis or a treatment. Subsequently, the frequency and the percentage of the qualitative, quantitative, average and standard deviation variables were described. Results 766 teleconceptos were studied, the mean age was 60 years. The cities with the highest number of requests were Ibague (7.4%) and Bogotá (7.3%). Mainly reported symptoms in the present illness were dyspnea (47%) and coughing (44.1%); the main preceding condition associated with pulmonary pathology was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (31.6%). Conclusions Coughing and dyspnea were the most frequently found symptoms in the patients referred to pulmonology by teleconcepto and COPD was the preceeding condition which was most frequently associated with pulmonary pathology. On the other hand, spirometry and flow-volume curve were the most requested tests by the physician and the pulmonologist. Finally, the average time in hours from the request to the teleconcepto response was 9.1 hours.